Patient's question:
My brother's vision has been getting worse since the beginning of middle school, deteriorating much faster than his peers. At first, I thought it was just nearsightedness and didn't pay much attention. Later, some symptoms of color blindness appeared, and after a check-up, the result was optic nerve atrophy. Oh my... what should we do? What other symptoms could optic nerve atrophy cause, and what consequences might it lead to?Doctor's answer:
Optic atrophy is a degenerative condition of the optic nerve fibers caused by gliofibrous hyperplasia and impaired blood circulation. It is a chronic, progressive retinal disease that primarily affects young and middle-aged adults. Clinical features include gradual vision loss, eventually leading to blindness, pallor or whitening of the optic disc, concentric or fan-shaped visual field defects, or the presence of relative or absolute scotomas. In the early stages, there may be no subjective symptoms, and the condition is only noticed when central vision and color perception (first red, then green) are impaired.