Optic Nerve Atrophy

Optic atrophy is the loss of nerve fibers that make up the optic nerve. It can be caused by a variety of conditions from glaucoma to loss of blood flow (ischemic optic neuropathy), to inflammatory conditions (like multiple sclerosis which can cause optic neuritis) to compressive lesions (tumors or other lesions pressing on the nerve behind the eye). There is no "cure" once atrophy has developed. It is very important to determine why the optic atrophy has occurred to treat the underlying condition and prevent further atrophy from developing as well as to prevent the same thing from occurring in the other eye.