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Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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Multiple sclerosis is the most common cause of retrobulbar neuritis accounting for 25-60% of cases.

Other causes of optic neuritis:

  • other demyelinating disease, e.g. Devic's disease
  • toxic amblyopia
  • metabolic - vitamin deficiencies, especially of B12; severe anaemia
  • ischaemia - diabetes mellitis; temporal arteritis; arteriosclerosis
  • familial - Leber's disease
  • infection:
    • viral - herpes zoster, infectious mononucleosis, typhoid fever
    • bacterial - neurosyphilis, meningitis, tuberculosis
    • other - toxoplasmosis

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