AIM To study the normal distributions of mitochondria and voltage gated Na+ channels in the human optic nerve head in order to gain insight into the potential mechanisms of optic nerve dysfunction seen in the inherited optic neuropathies. METHODS Five fresh frozen human optic nerves were studied. Longitudinally orientated, serial cryosections of optic nerve head were cut for mitochondrial enz...

Neurodegeneration plays a major role in multiple sclerosis (MS), in which it is thought to be the main determinant of permanent disability. However, the relationship between the immune response and the onset of neurodegeneration is still a matter of debate. Moreover, recent findings in MS patients raised the question of whether primary neurodegenerative changes can occur in the retina independe...

To recognize and to assess glaucomatous changes at the optic nerve, it is important to know the characteristics of the normal optic disc. As in the other biological variables, the appearance of the optic disc varies widely among healthy individuals. This fact is complicate the recognition of the pathological changes. ‘Optic Disc’ is frequently used to describe the portion of the optic nerve cli...

Optic nerve-head examination is probably the most important step in the diagnosis of glaucoma and is also extremely important in monitoring patients with established glaucoma. There are several ways to clinically examine the optic nerve head, including direct ophthalmoscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy, and slit lamp biomicroscopy with contact lenses (such as a Goldman lens), handheld lenses (such ...

PURPOSE Optic nerve injury has been found to be dramatically reduced in a genetic mouse glaucoma model following exposure to sublethal, head-only irradiation. In this study, the same radiation treatment was used prior to experimental induction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) to determine if radiation is neuroprotective in another glaucoma model. METHODS Episcleral vein injection of hyp...

RESULTS. Several large histamine-immunoreactive axons ran from the optic nerve head to the peripheral retina, where they branched extensively and terminated in the inner plexiform layer, occasionally alongside retinal blood vessels. Other axons that emerged from the optic nerve head ran in the optic fiber layer to the central retina, circled the fovea, and then returned to the optic disc. These...

OBJECTIVE To develop a method for comparing multifocal visual-evoked potential (mfVEP) responses and behaviorally determined visual fields with structural measures of the optic nerve head. METHODS Humphrey 24-2 visual fields and mfVEPs were obtained from each eye of 20 patients with open-angle glaucoma. Monocular and interocular analyses were performed to identify locations with abnormal mfVE...

PURPOSE To determine the optic nerve head topographic parameters with the least variability in repeat measurements. METHODS We randomly selected and evaluated 1 eye each of 20 healthy subjects, a total of 20 eyes. We used the confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (CSLO) for optic nerve head analysis. The disc area and a total of 13 parameters were determined by Top SS. Each subject was exami...