Optic neuritis

Optic neuritis is inflammation of the optic nerve that can cause painful, often rapid vision loss, usually in one eye.

Optic nerve: The bundle of retinal ganglion-cell axons that carries visual signals from the eye to the brain. Inflammation damages this signal-carrying pathway, producing vision loss.
Optical coherence tomography: A noninvasive imaging technique that produces cross-sectional images of retinal tissue. It can track retinal nerve-fiber and ganglion-cell loss after optic-nerve inflammation.
Multiple sclerosis: A chronic immune-mediated disease in which damage to central nervous system myelin causes neurologic dysfunction. Optic neuritis can be the first clinical sign of multiple sclerosis.
Ischemic optic neuropathy: Optic-nerve dysfunction caused by inadequate blood supply. It can cause sudden vision loss, but usually differs in age profile, pain, and optic-disc findings.
Multiple sclerosis risk after optic neuritis: The likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis after an episode of optic neuritis. Brain MRI findings at the first episode help estimate this risk.
Demyelination: The loss or damage of myelin sheaths around nerve fibers. In multiple-sclerosis-associated cases, myelin damage disrupts conduction along the optic nerve.
Magnetic resonance imaging: An imaging method that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed internal images. Orbital and brain MRI can show optic-nerve enhancement and associated brain lesions.
Aquaporin-4 antibody: An autoantibody targeting aquaporin-4 water channels, associated with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. Its presence can identify a distinct, often more severe cause of optic neuritis.
Compressive optic neuropathy: Optic-nerve damage caused by pressure from a mass or other structure. Progressive compression can mimic optic neuritis but often develops more slowly.
Visual field: The full area visible to an eye when it is directed straight ahead. An episode can leave persistent field defects even when central acuity recovers.

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