Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Rat Model of Photochemically-Induced Posterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy
Published on: November 29, 2015
Hereditary optic neuropathies
1Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30022, USA. opthnjn@emory.edu
Aims:
To provide a clinical update on the hereditary optic neuropathies.
Methods:
Review of the literature.
Results:
The hereditary optic neuropathies comprise a group of disorders in which the cause of optic nerve dysfunction appears to be hereditable, based on familial expression or genetic analysis. In some hereditary optic neuropathies, optic nerve dysfunction is typically the only manifestation of the disease. In others, various neurologic and systemic abnormalities are regularly observed.
Conclusion:
The most common hereditary optic neuropathies are autosomal dominant optic atrophy (Kjer's disease) and maternally inherited Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. We review the clinical phenotypes of these and other inherited disorders with optic nerve involvement.
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