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Tuberculosis medication may act as an epigenetic factor in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy
Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2010;38(4):363-366.
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Distinct phenotypic expression of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy may signify that antituberculosis medications act as an epigenetic factor in the disease.
According to a study, researchers reviewed the records of 46 patients at a South Korean hospital who were diagnosed with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy and possessed point mutations of their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) at nucleotide 11778, 14484, 3460 or 4171, all areas known to cause optic neuropathy.
In the study, three patients, all possessing the mtDNA 11778 mutation, developed visual loss while taking antituberculosis medication. These patients tended to be older at age of visual loss onset — mean 32.7 years — compared with the 43 patients with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy but not on antituberculosis medication.
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