OPHTHALMOLOGY
Vasculogenic mimicry
Overview and clinical context By the mid-1980s, many uveal melanoma patients were electing treatment by vision-sparing radiation therapy, avoiding surgical removal of the affected eye (enucleation). The Collaborative Ocular Melanoma…
Molecular basis of low-penetrance retinoblastoma
Clinical background Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular malignancy in children and is the prototype inherited cancer predisposition syndrome. About 60% of new patients exhibit unilateral ocular involvement with familial…
Uveal melanoma
Clinical background Uveal melanoma is a malignant neoplasm that arises from neuroectodermal melanocytes within the choroid, ciliary body, or iris, and it is the most common primary malignant intraocular neoplasm….
Toxic optic nerve neuropathies
The toxic optic neuropathies (TON) are caused by a widely varied group of insults that may include chemicals, drugs, nutritional defects, and vaccines ( Box 46.1 ). The goal of…
Ischemic optic neuropathy
Introduction Ischemic optic neuropathy refers to a group of conditions in which damage to the optic nerve is presumed to be secondary to ischemia of the optic nerve head (anterior…
Optic atrophy
Clinical background Optic atrophy can be considered the wasting of a once-healthy optic nerve. This definition excludes conditions associated with optic nerve dysplasia, hypoplasia, or aplasia in which the optic…
Optic nerve axonal injury
Overview Unlike the peripheral nervous system (PNS), in which axonal injury leads to regeneration, injury to axons of central nervous system (CNS) neurons is irreversible, and usually leads to death…
Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy
Clinical background Historical development Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a maternally inherited disease that presents with sudden or subacute nonsynchronous bilateral vision loss. Males in their second and third…