Optic Nerve Damage: What Are Its Causes And Stem Cell Research?

Optic Nerve Damage: What Are Its Causes And Stem Cell Research? . Optic nerve damage is one of the most perplexing problems as it can result in vision distortion or complete blindness. This damage can occur from disease, an injury or degenerative changes in the eye. Optic nerve damage can occur in one or both the eyes. In medical parlance it is also called optic nerve atrophy. Optic nerve is the second cranial nerve. Its main function is to transmit the information that is perceived on the retina to the brain.

Light which enters into the eye is transformed into electrical impulses by the retina.

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Optic nerve is attached at the back of retina. These impulses are carried by the optic nerve to the brain which is attached to the retina. The brain processes it and forms an image. Thus when the optic nerve is damaged there is partial or complete loss of vision. Optic nerve damage most of the time occurs due to diseases in the eye or neurological disorder. Below are given important causes of optic nerve damage.

What Causes Optic Nerve Damage?

Several underlying reasons can cause optic nerve damage.

Certain diseases of blood vessels that can hamper the free flow of blood to the optic nerve can cause damage to the optic nerve.

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These problems include;

• A clot in the artery that supplies blood to the optic nerve
• Cerebral aneurysm, a condition where the wall of cerebral artery becomes weak and bursts
• Inflammation of the blood vessels of the brain
• Brain hemorrhage

Other factors that can lead to optic nerve damage:

• Eye cancer
• Optic glioma. Tumor in the brain which affects the eye
• Tumor of optic nerve
• Abuse of alcohol causing alcohol toxicity. It is usually due to methanol poisoning
• Multiple sclerosis
• Diabetes and hypertension
• Glaucoma is a disease of eye where there is pressure build up in the eye
• Hyperthyroidism which may result in Grave’s disease
• Injury to eye or to the head
• Vitamin B12 deficiency
• Certain medicines can also cause damage to the optic nerve. This may include anti tuberculosis medicine, chemotherapy drugs, etc.

Stem Cell Research For Optic Nerve Damage

Stem cell therapy has become a word of the day. The new adult stem cells are used to grow the damaged tissues. The damage can be due to disease or an injury. Researchers are seeing a ray of light in curing several incurable conditions with the help of stem cell therapy.

Stem cell research for optic nerve damage has given promising results to many researchers. In some cases doctors are able to restore the growth of optic nerve fibers. But it is in the initial phase, more research is needed. Few doctors injected the stem cells from the patient’s own bone marrow. Such patients perceived movements and shadows; this is the first step in rejuvenation of the damaged optic nerve, which was thought to be irreversible some few years back.