Introduction

Optic neuritis (ON) is an acute inflammatory disorder of the optic nerve. The disease is characterized by unilateral or bilateral sudden loss of vision, often accompanied by periocular pain. The majority of cases are idiopathic in origin. However, demyelination, specifically multiple sclerosis (MS), is reported to be the most common etiology in the Western literature.^1,2 In India and other Asian countries the incidence of MS is reported to be low.³ Although the clinical syndrome of acute optic neuritis has been well recognized for many years, much information about optic neuritis was obtained from a multicenter study called ‘The Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial (ONTT)⁴. The investigators in ONTT enrolled patients with acute unilateral optic neuritis. Although the primary objective of the trial was the assessment of the efficacy of corticosteroids in the treatment of optic neuritis, the trial also provided invaluable information about the clinical profile and natural history of this disease. The aim of present study was to study the clinical profile and short term visual outcome of acute optic neuritis in kashmiri population.

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