“Diagnostic Approach of Optic Neuropathies”

Abstract

Optic neuropathy is a common cause of disturbance of vision in everyday clinical practice. The medical
history and physical examination provide the clinician with valuable information, which limits the differential
diagnosis and directs the choice of diagnostic tools in order to achieve accurate diagnosis. The main diseases
caused due to an optic nerve lesion are demyelinating optic neuritis, anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy,
toxic, infiltrating and inflammatory optic neuropathies and Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy. In this
review, we emphasize on the clinical features which allow the neurologist to evaluate optic neuropathy
effectively and approach differential diagnosis.