A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of adding erythropoietin to intravenous methylprednisolone for the treatment of unilateral acute optic neuritis of unknown or demyelinative origin

Purpose To compare the effect of adding recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) to intravenous methylprednisolone for the treatment of unilateral acute optic neuritis of unknown or demyelinative origin on the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR), perimetric variables [mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD)], and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in optical coherence tomography (OCT).