OPTIC ATROPHY

degeneration of the optic (second cranial) nerve, which carries visual data from the retina of the eye to a relay station in the centre of the brain (the lateral geniculate body) for transmission to a cortical area at the back of the brain. The atrophy may be a hereditary defect (Leber's disease) affecting males, primarily between the ages of 15 and 25 years, and causing loss of central vision. There is sometimes some recovery of vision in Leber's disease, but it is rarely complete. Optic atrophy may also be caused by physical injury, as from a blow to the head; by glaucoma; by a tumour that presses on the nerve; by poisons such as wood alcohol, quinine, or arsenic; or by disease of the retina.