Optic Nerve Disorders: Glaucoma, Optic Neuritis and More

The optic nerve is a bundle of more than 1 million nerve fibres that carry visual messages. Each eye has one, linking the back of the eye (the retina) to the brain. Damage to an optic nerve can cause vision loss, in one eye or both; the kind of loss and how severe it is depend on where the damage is.

Types of optic nerve disorder

• Glaucoma: a group of diseases that are the leading cause of blindness in the United States. It usually happens when fluid pressure inside the eye slowly rises and damages the optic nerve.
• Optic neuritis: inflammation of the optic nerve, caused by infections or immune-related illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, and sometimes by nothing that can be found.
• Optic nerve atrophy: damage to the optic nerve from poor blood flow to the eye, disease, injury or toxic substances.
• Optic nerve head drusen: pockets of protein and calcium salts that build up in the optic nerve over time.

Diagnosis and treatment

See a health care provider if you have vision problems. Tests may include eye exams, ophthalmoscopy (an examination of the back of the eye) and imaging tests. Treatment depends on the disorder: with some, vision can come back; with others there is no treatment, or treatment can only prevent further loss.

Sources

• MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, "Optic Nerve Disorders." https://medlineplus.gov/opticnervedisorders.html
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