Compressive Optic Neuropathy: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Compressive optic neuropathy refers to vision loss as a result of an elevated pressure around the optic nerve. Compressive optic neuropathy arises from pathological processes outside the optic nerve that impinges or crowds the optic nerve within the confined bony optic canal (intracanalicular or orbital segment), or as the nerve exits (intracranial/posterior segment). This results in damage to axons passing through the optic nerve.

Causes intracanalicular segment:

- Optic nerve sheath meningioma.

- Pituitary macroadenoma.

- Sphenoid wing meningioma.

- Cavernous sinus hemangioma.

- Carotid-ophthalmic aneurysm.

- Craniopharyngioma.

- Trauma.

- Paget’s disease.

- Fibrous dysplasia.

- Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Causes intracranial segment:

- Aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms.

- Meningiomas.

- Craniopharyngiomas.

- Gliomas.

- Pituitary macroadenomas.

- Carotid-ophthalmic aneurysm.

- Trauma.

- Optic nerve drusen.