Walsh & Hoyt: Chronic Demyelinating Optic Neuritis

It was once statedthat for all intents and purposes chronic optic neuritis does not occur. The reason for this dogmatic statement was that too many patients with mass lesions compressing the intracranial portion of the optic nerve were being diagnosed as having chronic optic neuritis, leading to delayed treatment of the underlying lesion with resultant permanent visual loss. Thus, the statement that chronic optic neuritis was never a tenable diagnosis was made in an effort to raise the consciousness of the majority of physicians to look for another, potentially treatable, cause of unilateral progressive optic neuropathy.