Vasopressin test in cases of optic atrophy and optic neuritis

The vasopressin test gave pathological results in 12 cases of optic atrophy and normal results in three cases. One of the patients with a pathological response had Leber's disease and three had tobacco-alcholic amblyopia, while in the rest the optic atrophy was of uncertain origin. In the cases with normal results the aetiology was also unclear. The Metopirone test was normal in 13 cases and pathological in only one case of optic atrophy. In three out of five patients with optic neuritis the vasopressin test gave pathological responses. The high frequency of pathological vasopressin tests in patients with optic lesions indicates a simultaneous disturbance of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal function. The background to this might be a disturbed vascular supply. The vasopressin test was of no help in diagnosing tumours as a cause of optic atrophy.