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CLINICAL RESEARCH C



               Amiodarone-Associated Optic Neuropathy












               Sara Weidmayer, OD, FAAO       Abstract
               Staff Optometrist,
               VA Ann Arbor                   A 72-year old male presented symptomatic for unilateral inferior visu-
               Healthcare System;             al field loss, but was found to have bilateral optic neuropathy. Clinical
               Clinical Assistant Professor,   features,  an  extended  minimally  symptomatic  course  and  a  temporal
               University of Michigan’s       relationship to amiodarone use implicated amiodarone-associated op-
               Department of Ophthalmology    tic  neuropathy.  Serial  ancillary  testing  analyses  provided  insight  into
               and Visual Sciences            this entity’s natural course. This patient developed the greatest retinal
                                              nerve fiber layer thinning in the inferior quadrant; this may correlate
                                              with anatomically larger-diameter axons, supporting a previous publi-
                                              cation which suggested that larger-diameter optic nerve axons are more
                                              susceptible to amiodarone-induced lipidosis. While rare, amiodarone-
                                              associated optic neuropathy may develop and cause permanent loss of
                                              visual function.
                                              KEYWORDS
                                              amiodarone, optic neuropathy, optic disc edema, toxic optic neuropathy,
                                              anterior ischemic optic neuropathy











































               CANADIAN JOURNAL of OPTOMETRY    |    REVUE CANADIENNE D’OPTOMÉTRIE    VOL. 80  NO. 4           41
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