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Published on: September 22, 2017
Superior segmental optic nerve hypoplasia and diabetes mellitus
1Neuro-Ophthalmology Service, Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, 6565 Fannin Street, NC-205, Houston, TX 77030, USA. foroozan@bcm.tmc.edu
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to describe the ocular findings of an 8-year-old girl with bilateral superior segmental optic nerve hypoplasia (SSONH) whose mother had a history of Type 1 diabetes mellitus and to review the prior literature concerning this association.
Methods:
Neuroophthalmic examination, including funduscopy, visual fields, optical coherence tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and orbits, were used.
Results:
Bilateral inferior visual field defects prompted initial neuroophthalmic evaluation. Funduscopy revealed bilateral SSONH, worse on the right. MRI of the brain and orbits revealed hypoplastic optic nerves and a small optic chiasm.
Conclusions:
Although the association between SSONH and maternal diabetes mellitus is a well-documented entity, prior reports have been solely in the neuroophthalmic literature. The optic discs in patients with SSONH have a characteristic appearance, which may obviate the need for additional evaluation of the visual field defects. The MRI findings of hypoplastic optic nerves and a small optic chiasm have previously not been reported. This patient underscores the importance of recognizing the association between SSONH and maternal diabetes mellitus.
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