The Diagnosis and Treatment of Optic Neuritis

Typical optic neuritis is an acute, severe visual disturbance without any clear diagnostic findings on ocular examination. It generally affects young, otherwise healthy individuals. It is caused by an autoimmune reaction directed against the optic nerve. Optic neuritis may be the first manifestation of multiple sclerosis. It is increasingly used in clinical trials as a model for multiple sclerosis relapses, because visual function is relatively easy to measure and, in particular, because changes in the retinal nerve fiber layer can be visualized in detail with optical coherence tomography. The optic nerve, in this situation, can be used as a window to the brain.