title: Visual recovery in patients with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy and the 11778 mutation.
abstract: Five patients with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and the 11778 mitochondrial mutation spontaneously recovered 20/40 or better visual acuity in at least one eye after months to years of legal blindness. The patients ranged in age from 9 to 45 years, and the duration of visual loss before recovery ranged from several months to 5.9 years. These patients constitute only about 4% of the 136 affected LHON patients we have studied who also had the 11778 mutation in their mitochondrial DNA. Thus, even though the visual prognosis for most patients with LHON and the 11778 mutation is poor, a few individuals do recover near-normal vision in at least one eye even years after the initial visual loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Johns
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Lott
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Wallace
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D015418:Optic Atrophies, Hereditary / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D014794:Visual Fields
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial