Treatment of Optic Neuritis
Optic neuritis usually gets better on its own. In some cases, steroid medications are used to treat optic neuritis, because they help reduce inflammation in the optic nerve. If you receive steroids, your treatment may involve:
* Intravenous steroids. You’ll likely receive steroid therapy by vein (intravenously) for several days. Intravenous steroid therapy may accelerate vision recovery, but it doesn’t appear to affect the extent to which you’ll recover your vision.
* Oral steroids. After intravenous steroid therapy, you may take an oral steroid called prednisone for several weeks. Oral steroids usually follow an intravenous course of steroids, because using oral steroids alone to treat optic neuritis has been associated with an increased risk of recurrence.
In instances in which steroid therapy has failed and severe vision loss persists, a treatment called plasma exchange therapy may help some people recover their vision.
A course of intravenous corticosteroids (steroids) followed by oral steroids has been found to be helpful in restoring vision quickly to patients with MS-related episodes of optic neuritis, but its efficacy in preventing relapse is debatable. The Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial (ONTT) has shown that IV steroids may be effective in reducing the onset of MS for up to two years, but further studies are necessary. Oral prednisone has been found to increase the likelihood of recurrent episodes of optic neuritis, and is not recommended for treating the disorder.
Write a Comment