[Visual functions of optic neuritis in children caused by demyelinating disease]

Optic neuritis in childhood caused by demyelinating disease is very rare, and its effect on visual function has not been well documented. The visual function of 11 patients treated in the last 11 years was retrospectively studied and the results were compared with 15 cases of optic neuritis of unknown etiology. Optic neuritis in children with demyelinating disease was characterized as follows. 1. abnormal visual evoked cortical potentials (VECP) and color vision were found not only in the affected eye but also in the non-affected fellow eye, 2. VECPs became normal long after the recovery of visual acuity, 3. full recovery of visual function took longer, 4. at onset, vision was more severely affected, but showed a good outcome. These findings provide useful information to make a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis even at the first attack of optic neuritis.