Can optic nerve head drusen cause blindness?

Can drusen cause blindness? Drusen do not cause total blindness, but can result in central vision loss.

Is there a cure for optic disc drusen?

Optic disc drusen does not require treatment, and patients generally have good visual prognosis. There is currently no effective treatment for patients who have gradual loss of visual fields (some studies have suggested IOP lowering medications).

Is optic disc drusen hereditary?

Inheritance. Optic disc drusen are frequently familial. Family members of patients with optic disc drusen have up to ten times the risk of harboring optic disc drusen compared to the general population, and they have an increased risk of optic disc dysplasia and anomalous retinal vasculature.

Can optic nerve drusen go away?

Most cases of subretinal neovascularization associated with optic disc drusen resolve without treatment and with only mild symptoms. Laser photocoagulation should only be considered in cases if central visual acuity is threatened.

How do you treat drusen optic nerve?

There are no proven preventative measures or treatments for optic nerve drusen. Fortunately symptoms are very rare, even if the drusen are severe. For the rare person who has symptomatic vision loss that is not due to a choroidal neovascular membrane, glaucoma drops to lower eye pressure may be tried.

Is optic disc drusen common?

Optic nerve drusen are abnormal deposition of protein and calcium found in the optic nerve. They can be found on the surface of the nerve or buried beneath the surface. They are found in 1-2% of the population and usually occur in both eyes but can occasionally be present in just one eye.

How is the drusen of the optic nerve identified?

Superficial drusen of the optic nerve head are usually easily identified on ophthalmoscopy by the characteristic glowing yellow light they reflect. However, deeply situated buried drusen of the optic nerve head may be difficult to differentiate from true disc edema by ophthalmoscopic appearance alone.

Where is the drusen in the right eye?

Prominent optic nerve head in the right eye with visible optic disc drusen in the nasal upper quadrant (arrow). The left eye showed a prominent optic disc without visible drusen.

Can a MRI be used to diagnose drusen?

In our study, MRI was not valuable in diagnosing drusen of the optic nerve head since no case revealed any changes in the region of the optic nerve head consistent with the diagnosis of drusen. We know of only one report describing an eye with drusen demonstrated by detection of optic disc transparency in the MRI.

Which is autosomal recessive syndrome causes optic disc drusen?

A new autosomal recessive syndrome consisting of posterior microphthalmos, retinitis pigmentosa, foveoschisis, and optic disc drusen is caused by a MFRP gene mutation. Mol Vis. 2006 Dec 4;12:1483-9.