Abstract
Five patients with Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and the 11778 mitochondrial mutation spontaneously recovered 20/40 or better visual acuity in at least one eye after months to years of legal blindness. The patients ranged in age from 9 to 45 years, and the duration of visual loss before recovery ranged from several months to 5.9 years. These patients constitute only about 4% of the 136 affected LHON patients we have studied who also had the 11778 mutation in their mitochondrial DNA. Thus, even though the visual prognosis for most patients with LHON and the 11778 mutation is poor, a few individuals do recover near-normal vision in at least one eye even years after the initial visual loss.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 10-14 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - Mar 1992 |
Keywords
- 11778 Mitochondrial mutation
- Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ophthalmology
- Clinical Neurology