drugs

Drugs to treat optic neuritis

Definition

Optic neuritis is an inflammatory pathology involving the optic nerve. In the long run, this disease can cause severe and permanent damage to the eye, such as partial loss of vision or blindness.

In most cases, inflammation affects only one eye, but the possibility that both eyes are affected by the disease is not entirely excluded.

Causes

Optic neuritis is caused by damage to the optic nerve and the myelin sheath that covers it. The damage to this sheath, in fact, prevents the nerve from conducting electrical impulses adequately, thus altering the signals that come from the eye to the brain. All this translates into reduced vision.

Damage to the myelin sheath can be caused by autoimmune diseases (such as multiple sclerosis, Devic's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, Behçet's disease, sarcoidosis. Etc.), from infections (such as syphilis, meningitis, the Lyme disease, chickenpox, measles, mumps, infections caused by Herpes zoster, etc. ), or by trauma or other diseases and disorders, such as, for example, tumors, ischemia, diabetes, nutritional deficiencies, etc.

However, the most common cause of optic neuritis is multiple sclerosis.

Symptoms

The characteristic symptoms of optic neuritis are eye pain, reduced visual acuity and altered color perception.

Other symptoms that may occur in patients with optic neuritis are anisocoria, visual field narrowing, night blindness, loose bodies, halos around light, photophobia, scotomas and intraocular bleeding.

Finally, optic neuritis can lead to partial or total loss of vision.

Information on Optic Neuritis - Drugs for the Treatment of Optical Neuritis is not intended to replace the direct relationship between health professional and patient. Always consult your doctor and / or specialist before taking Neurite Optics - Drugs for the Treatment of Optical Neuritis.

drugs

In some cases, optic neuritis is a transient disorder that tends to self-cancel within a few weeks or months, without resorting to any type of drug therapy.

However, when optic neuritis is caused by other diseases or disorders, it is necessary to intervene on the primary causes that triggered the disease itself. Therefore, if at the base of optic neuritis there is an infection (be it bacterial or viral) it is necessary to institute an adequate therapy aimed at contrasting the infectious agent, through the use of affixed antibiotic or antiviral drugs, depending on the case .

If, instead, at the base of optic neuritis there is multiple sclerosis - as happens in the majority of cases - to accelerate the healing time, a pharmacological treatment can be instituted that foresees the administration of intravenous corticosteroids.

Moreover - when the cause triggering optic neuritis is an autoimmune disease - to decrease the frequency of attacks, immunomodulatory or immunosuppressive drugs can be used.

Corticosteroids

When the cause of optic neuritis resides in multiple sclerosis, in order to accelerate recovery, generally, the doctor prescribes a treatment based on intravenous corticosteroids. Thereafter, therapy can be continued by taking oral corticosteroids.

Due to the side effects caused by corticosteroids, their use must be under the strict control of the doctor.

Among the most commonly used active ingredients, we recall:

  • Methylprednisolone (Urbason ®, Medrol ®, Solu-Medrol ®): methylprednisolone is available in different pharmaceutical formulations suitable for different administration routes.

    When administered intravenously, the usually used dose of methylprednisolone (in the form of methylprednisolone sodium succinate) is 30 mg / kg of body weight, to be administered over a period of at least 30 minutes. It should be remembered that treatment with such high doses of methylprednisolone should be performed only for short periods (maximum 48-72 hours).

    When administered orally, however, the methylprednisolone dose used can range from 4 mg to 48 mg a day.

    However, the initial amount of drug to be administered and the optimal maintenance dose for each patient must be established by the doctor.

  • Prednisone (Deltacortene ®): prednisone is available for oral administration and can be used to continue steroid therapy following the administration of intravenous methylprednisolone. The usual dose of medication is 10-15 mg a day. Also in this case, the exact dosage of the drug must be established by the doctor on an individual basis for each patient.

Other drugs for the (indirect) treatment of optic neuritis

  • Natalizumab (Tysabri ®): natalizumab is a monoclonal antibody with specific indication for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. It is available for intravenous administration and should only be administered by a specialist in the treatment of this disease. The usual dose is 300 mg of drug, to be administered by intravenous infusion every four weeks.
  • Cyclophosphamide (Endoxan Baxter ®): cyclophosphamide is an anticancer medicine that can be used to treat various autoimmune diseases thanks to its immunosuppressive action. It is a drug available for both oral and intravenous administration. The amount of active ingredient to be used must be established by the doctor on an individual basis.
  • Methotrexate (Methotrexate Teva ®, Reumaflex ®): methotrexate is also an anticancer medicine that thanks to its immunosuppressive action can be used to treat different types of autoimmune diseases. It is available for oral and parenteral administration. The route of administration and the amount of drug to be used must be established by the physician according to the autoimmune disease to be treated.

These drugs, therefore, are not used directly for the treatment of optic neuritis itself, but for the treatment of autoimmune diseases that underlie this inflammation.