Vascular disorders in neuro-ophthalmology.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim is to briefly discuss the currently controversial management of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NA-AION) and central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO).

RECENT FINDINGS: The role of systemic corticosteroid therapy and aspirin in NA-AION and of thrombolysis in CRAO is discussed.

SUMMARY: NA-AION is a major cause of seriously impaired vision. A recent large prospective study has shown that systemic corticosteroid resulted in a significantly higher probability of improvement in visual acuity (P = 0.001) and visual fields (P = 0.005), compared to an untreated group. In CRAO, the latest prospective study has shown that thrombolytic therapy not only has no beneficial effect but also is harmful.