title: Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in type I diabetes.
abstract: Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (A.I.O.N.) may cause optic disc edema in type-I diabetes. A.I.O.N. affects diabetic patients of all ages. Such optic neuropathy is more likely to become bilateral in diabetics than in the non-diabetic subjects. A 41-year-old diabetic insulin-dependent woman presented A.I.O.N. in RE; 5 years later, the same affection occurred in LE. The clinical course was relatively benign in both eyes, with good functional restitution. The patient was treated by high doses of Sodium Salicylate and Sulfinpyrazone. The pathogenesis of optic disc edema in type-I diabetes is, according to Hayreh (1981), ischemia of different grade in the district of the posterior ciliary arteries: microangiopathy, rheological anomalies and atherosclerotic added lesions produce a variability of clinical pictures of increasing seriousness. Our case has an intermediate position in such a continuous spectrum. The VEP supported the diagnosia of A.I.O.N.
authors.affiliation: 2nd Clinica Oculistica, University of Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brogelli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valentini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D004487:Edema / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000098:blood supply*; D014794:Visual Fields