The Importance of Corticosteroid Therapy in Treatment of Acute Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy

Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy is an acute ischemic disease of vascular origin whose treatment demands urgent application of an appropriate therapy. The research included 56 patients with an acute form of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy with 50 of them classified as idiopathic types while 6 had the arteritic form of the disease. In this paper, we analyze the therapeutic significance and the effect of general corticosteroid therapy, with initial therapeutic doses of 120 mg of prednizolon. Based on the changes in the visual acuity and visual field of the eyes affected by this disease, we determined a significant improvement in patients with with the idiopathic form of the disease who had undergone a timely cortico therapy, compared to those patients who had not (p<0.01). Apart from the application of cortico therapy, the time of initiation of the therapy, as well as the degree of ischemia of the affected part of optic nerve, were also significant factors of visual acuity recovery. In nine cases of eyes with the arteritic form of the disease, a satisfactory improvement of vision was not achieved, regardless of the application of general corticosteroid therapy (p>0.05) This paper discusses possible mechanisms of the beneficial effects of general corticosteroid therapy and the importance of an early therapeutic action and possible prevention of the disease of the other eye.