title: Treatment options for atypical optic neuritis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Optic neuritis (ON) is defined as inflammation of the optic nerve and can have various etiologies. The most common presentation in the US is demyelinating, or "typical" ON, usually associated with multiple sclerosis. This is in contrast to "atypical" causes of ON, which differ in their clinical presentation, management, and prognosis. These atypical cases are characterized by lack of eye pain, exudates, and hemorrhages on exam, very severe, bilateral or progressive visual loss, or with failure to recover vision.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to describe the clinical presentations of atypical ON and their treatments.
  
  
  METHODS
  Review article.
  
  
  METHODS
  Literature review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Types of atypical ON identified include neuromyelitis optica, autoimmune optic neuropathy, chronic relapsing inflammatory optic neuropathy, idiopathic recurrent neuroretinitis, and optic neuropathy associated with systemic diseases. Atypical ON usually requires corticosteroid treatment and often will require aggressive immunosuppression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Unlike demyelinating ON, atypical ON requires treatment to preserve vision.
authors.forename: Amina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Eye Institute, Cincinnati, USA.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Golnik
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications*; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000473:pathology*; D009902:Optic Neuritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D014792:Visual Acuity