Can Optic Nerve Damage be Treated?

Richard, a United States Army veteran, suffers from optic nerve damage. It has permanently impaired both of Richard’s eyes and has left him legally blind. To read more about Richard’s story, click here.

Diseases of the eye, brain and the central nervous system, trauma, injury, shock and overexposure to radiation can damage the optic nerve.

Diseases such as Optic Neuritis, Optic Atrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Optic Neuropathy, Glaucoma, Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy, Optic Nerve Head Drusen, Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, etc. are known to affect the optic nerve and damage it.

Optic Neuritis is an inflammation or swelling of the optic nerve. The inflammation can occur on its own or is accompanied by a disease such as Multiple Sclerosis, a disease of the brain and the central nervous system. It causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body, affecting the nerve fibers while damaging to the optic nerve.

Optic Neuropathy is damage to the optic nerve, which results in the loss of vision in the affected eye. Loss of color is also a common occurrence in optic neuropathy.

Glaucoma is a set of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve. In glaucoma, the intraocular pressure in the eye builds up gradually and starts affecting the optic nerve. This buildup of pressure slowly damages the optic nerve and may eventually lead to blindness. Click here if you want to learn more about glaucoma. To learn more about the management of glaucoma, click here.

Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy LHON is an inherited disease that affects the retinal ganglion cells, the main component of the optic nerve. LHON results in the degeneration of the retinal ganglion cells and may cause temporary or permanent vision loss.

Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) is a common cause of acute optic neuropathy that causes inflammation of the arteries that supply blood to the optic nerve. This inflammation results in the interruption of blood flow to the optic nerve head or the anterior of the optic nerve. Different diseases or conditions such as giant cell arteritis or temporal arteritis may increase the risk of developing AION.

Non-arteritic AION or NA-AION is also a common type of AION that is caused by either a drop in blood pressure, increased pressure in the eyeball, narrowed arteries, increased blood thickness, and decreased blood flow to the optic nerve. NA-AION can result in the eventual loss of sight if precautionary measures are not taken on time.

Optic Nerve Head Drusen is another condition that causes damage to the optic nerve. Also known as, Optic Disc Drusen, the condition occurs when pockets of mucoproteins and amino sugars calcify in the optic disc.

Another condition that results in optic nerve damage is Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, which occurs due to the underdevelopment of the optic nerve. The optic nerve appears to be abnormally small in this condition due to underdevelopment. Vision loss may occur with optic nerve hypoplasia.

Tumors in the brain, especially those in the pituitary gland of the eye, can also cause damage to the optic nerve. Trauma and injury to the eye or the brain can also affect the optic nerve, resulting in deteriorating vision.

To learn more about diseases and conditions that can cause damage to the optic nerve, click here.