[MRI lesions of the optic nerves in optic neuritis]

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in 14 patients with optic neuritis. Three patients suffered from multiple sclerosis but the etiologies of the remaining 11 cases could not be identified. They were bilateral in 6, and unilateral in 8. The MR images were compared with the symptomatic lesions of optic neuritis and pattern reversal VECP. The STIR mode (short time inversion recovery), was employed for the MRI in the orbit and T2-weighted mode in the brain. In 11 eyes with hyperemia of the optic disc, 7 eyes showed a high signal in the optic nerve with the MRI, and 9 eyes showed an abnormal pattern VECP. Seven eyes with normal disc and two eyes with a pale disc showed a high signal in the optic nerve with MRI, those 9 eyes had abnormal pattern VECP. The high signal in the optic nerve was not related to visual acuity or visual field abnormalities of patients. However, the degree of the high signal of the optic nerve lesion in MRI was associated with the clinical course and prognosis of the optic neuritis. The degree of the high signal of the optic nerve lesion decreased with the recovery of visual acuity in optic neuritis.