Atypical and Unusual Optic Neuropathies

This multisystem collagen-vascular disease is of special interest to the neurologist since between one and three quarters of the patients will develop neurologic complications Johnson and Richardson 1968. Gold et al 1972 reviewed the ocular manifestations of lupus and found that the most common lesions were retinal hemorrhages and cotton wool spots. The following ocular lesions were less frequent: arteriovenous crossing changes, arteriolar narrowing, retinal edema, papilledema, retinal hard exudates and retinal microaneurysms. Later, Gold et al 1977 defined a syndrome of multiple retinal arteriolar occlusions in 4 lupus patients, three of whom had neurologic involvement. Many other cases of this sort have been published in the intervening years.