The Etiology of Optic Neuropathy.

Hwang, Jeong Min; Jung, Yeon Chul

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 1999;40(4):1078-1083.
Published online April 1, 1999.

The Etiology of Optic Neuropathy.

Jeong Min Hwang, Yeon Chul Jung

Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul Municipal Boramae Hospital.

시신경병증의 원인 질환

황정민(Jeong Min Hwang),정연철(Yeon Chul Jung)

Abstract

In order to investigate causative mechanisms of optic neuropathy, retrospective clinical studies including ophthalmologic examination, imaging study, and molecular biologic analyses were performed on 322 patients with optic neuropathy. The causes include hereditary optic neuropathy(71 patients, 22.1%), optic neuritis(66 patients, 20.5%), traumatic optic neuropathy(40 patients, 12.5%), ischemic optic neuropathy(35 patients, 10.9%), compressive optic neuropathy(31 patients, 9.6%), toxic optic neuropathy(23 patients, 7.1%), etc. In 29 patients of bilateral optic atrophy and 18 patients of unilateral optic atrophy, the causative mechanism was not clear. In conclusion, hereditary optic neuropathy was the most common causative mechanism of optic neuropathy in this study. The importance of meticulous history taking and molecular biologic test should be stressed in differential diagnosis of optic neuropathy.

Key Words: Causative mechanisms;Hereditary optic neuropathy;Optic neuritis;Optic neuropathy;Traumatic optic neuropathy