Differentiate optic neuritis from amaurosis fugax in terms of etiology and course.

Differentiate optic neuritis from amaurosis fugax in terms of etiology and course.

• A. Amaurosis fugax is inflammatory and painful.
• B. Optic neuritis is inflammatory/demyelinating, painful with eye movement, usually progressive over days; amaurosis fugax is transient monocular vision loss due to retinal ischemia, brief episodes.
• C. Optic neuritis is transient monocular vision loss; amaurosis fugax is progressive.
• D. Optic neuritis is non-inflammatory; amaurosis fugax is painless.

Answer: (B)

Optic neuritis and amaurosis fugax differ mainly in cause and how vision changes unfold. Optic neuritis is an inflammatory/demyelinating attack on the optic nerve, often linked to multiple sclerosis. It typically presents with painful eye movement, and vision loss that develops over a day or two and may progress over several days. Amaurosis fugax, by contrast, is caused by retinal ischemia from vascular disease (such as carotid artery disease or emboli). It presents as brief, transient monocular vision loss—episodes that last seconds to minutes and are not painful. These patterns—inflammation with pain and gradual progression for optic neuritis versus transient, painless ischemic episodes for amaurosis fugax—distinguish the two.

Optic neuritis and amaurosis fugax differ mainly in cause and how vision changes unfold. Optic neuritis is an inflammatory/demyelinating attack on the optic nerve, often linked to multiple sclerosis. It typically presents with painful eye movement, and vision loss that develops over a day or two and may progress over several days. Amaurosis fugax, by contrast, is caused by retinal ischemia from vascular disease (such as carotid artery disease or emboli). It presents as brief, transient monocular vision loss—episodes that last seconds to minutes and are not painful. These patterns—inflammation with pain and gradual progression for optic neuritis versus transient, painless ischemic episodes for amaurosis fugax—distinguish the two.