Visual function in chronic Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy during idebenone treatment initiated 5 to 50 years after onset.
Berthold PempKarl KircherAndreas ReitnerPublished in: Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie (2019)
The increase in VA of patients who have had LHON for more than 5 years observed soon after start of treatment may not constitute a coincidental spontaneous recovery. We hypothesize that the treatment response in chronic LHON was the result of a reactivated signal transduction in surviving dysfunctional RGCs. The results of this study indicate a beneficial effect of idebenone on improvement of visual function in LHON patients with established optic atrophy.