The majority of all cases of ON, MS-related or not, are caused by demyelination.
Typically, Optic Neuritis affects people between the ages of 15 through 50. In MS, the disease affects women twice than men and in ON, the results follow this trend.
The main symptoms of Optic Neuritis are:
Loss of visual acuity (blurring of vision). This can range from mild blurring of vision, moderate loss of acuity, severe or total loss of light perception (complete blindness) in some cases. Eye pain is the chief complaint, but some patients report no pain, just loss of accuity. Some patients, however, complained of a dull headache beginning in the affected eye. Movement and visual flashing sensations brought about by side-to-side eye movement or sound) often occur with optic neuritis. They are most obvious in a dimly lit room. Obscuration of the visual field in bright light is another common symptom of optic neuritis and many people with ON, particularly those with a chronic condition, report that they see better in dimly lit rooms.
It is likely that both of these symptoms are caused by fluctuating interference of the nerve transmissions along the visual pathways.
Uhthoff's symptom, the worsening of symptoms with heat or exhaustion is, unfortunately exacerbated.
Visually Evoked Potential (VEP, VER) tests, which detect the speed of nerve transmissions down the optic nerve, are used as a diagnostic test for optic neuritis.
The rate of onset of Optic Neuritis varies from a few hours to few days and occasionally greater. Typically sight is at its worst around one week after onset of symptoms.
Recovery from ON is typically temporary. More than most recover some sight. The sight recovers to an almost normal vision, although some report that their vision is never the same as before the optic neuitis diagnosis.
An opthamologist is the MS patient's best choice in optic neuritis treatment and diagnosis. This is true if the inflammation is not further back along the optic nerve.
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