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Dexamethasone shows efficacy in treating optic neuritis
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Intravenous dexamethasone may be effective for treating patients with primary typical optic neuritis, according to a study by researchers in India.
Vimla Menon, MD, and colleagues at the All India Institute of Medical Science compared the efficacy of methylprednisolone and dexamethasone in 21 patients with acute optic neuritis. All patients began treatment within 8 days of onset and had a visual acuity less then 20/60 in the affected eye.
The researchers divided patients into two groups. The first group received 200 mg of intravenous dexamethasone once daily for 3 days. The second group received 250 mg of intravenous methylprednisolone every 6 hours for 3 days and then oral prednisolone for 11 days. Both groups were age- and sex-matched, according to the study.
At 90 days follow-up, logMAR visual acuity had improved from 1.1 at baseline to 0.28 in the dexamethasone group and from 1.52 at baseline to 0.36 in the methylprednisolone group.
No significant differences were noted between the two groups in color vision, contrast sensitivity, stereoacuity or Goldman visual fields at 3 months follow-up, the authors reported.
"Larger studies are required to establish [dexamethasone] as a safe, inexpensive and effective modality for the treatment of optic neuritis," they said.
The study is published in the September-October issue of Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.