[Epidemic optic neuropathy in Cuba. Clinical and neurophysiological study].
The Epidemic Optic Neuropathy (EON) that occurred in Cuba in 1993 affected more than 50,000 people. With the purpose of characterizing it from the clinical and neurophysiological points of view, and of determining the etiology of this illness, we studied 85 of this patients who were treated in the Ophthalmology Department of the Hermanos Ameijeiras Clinical Surgical Hospital, located in Centro Havana, Havana city. Cuba.


METHODS
We examined 8 cases at the beginning of the epidemic, 27 in the middle period and 50 at the end.


RESULTS
The bilateral and symmetrical affectation of the optic nerve was the most remarkable clinical feature in all cases studied. This affectation was more severe in the first group of studied patients with a very extended evolution of the illness. The amplitude and latency values of visual evoked potentials were affected in the first and second group of patients.


CONCLUSIONS
This neuropathy is of a toxic-nutritional-metabolic type and the severity of the clinical-neurophysiological picture is determined by the time of evolution of the symptoms, before the diagnosis of the illness.
Cáceres Toledo
M
M
Departamento de Oftalmología del Hospital Hermanos Ameijeiras, La Habana, Cuba. alvaca@infomed.sld.cu
D000328:Adult; D003462:Cuba / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009482:Neurophysiology; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*