[Concomitant cellular reactions in optic nerve siderosis existing for 30 years]

Metal foreign bodies located in the optic nerve are a rare clinical picture and sooner or later often associated with vision loss. We report on a patient who had a foreign body in the optic nerve for 30 years. Histochemical analysis of the optic nerve after the requisite enucleation with complete functional loss of the eye revealed amazing results. Even 30 years after entry of the foreign body into the optic nerve neuronal structures with organized axons surrounded by cytoblasts, glial cells, and immunocompetent cells still remoined. These findings hold out hope and may serve as the starting point for regenerative medicine to potentially restore neuronal function.