Toxic optic nerve damage and blindness can be caused by a large number of poisionous substances, drugs, nutritional deficiencies, metabolic disorders and radiation.

Smoking, alcohol, barbiturates, DDT, lead, and aniline dyes; prescribed drugs such as digitalis, ergotamine, inderal, ethambutol and suramin sodium used to treat heart disease, migraine, hypertension, tuberculosis and HIV respectively are just a few examples known or suspected to cause optic nerve damage in some situations. Many of these agents lead to permanent blindness but visual loss can be stopped in some if diagnosed early.

Visual loss from nutritional deficiency occurs less frequently in developed countries and occasionally in strict vegan vegetarians with vitamin B12 and B1 deficiencies.

Metabolic problems such as sugar diabetes, kidney failure and thyroid disease can cause optic neuropathy likely through build up of toxic substances within the body.

Ultra violet radiation in sunlight can cause a chain reaction of damaging free radical release in the eye which is thought to contribute to premature aging processes in the eye and vision loss.

Toxic optic nerve disease requires much more study but it is known to be similar to LHON, which suggests common pathophysiological mechanisms. It is also known that people can inherit tendencies to be susceptible to toxic substances. Such is the case with LHON and smoking and interestingly, in a parallel mitochondrial disease, aminoglycoside (antibiotic)-induced nerve deafness.

The International Foundation for Optic Nerve Disease
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