Optic glioma

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Neurofibromatosis I, enlarged optic foramen

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Optic glioma

Definition:

Gliomas are tumors that can be found in various parts of the brain. They are created by the growth of abnormal cells. Optic gliomas can affect:

One or both optic nerves -- these are the nerves that carry visual information to the brain from each eye
The optic chiasm -- this is the region where the optic nerves cross each other in front of the hypothalamus of the brain

An optic glioma may also grow in conjunction with a hypothalamic glioma (a mass in the hypothalamus of the brain).

Alternative Names:

Glioma - optic; Optic nerve glioma

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Optic gliomas are rare and the cause is unknown. These tumors occur most often as a slow-growing, benign form in children and almost always occur before age 20. There is a strong association between optic glioma and neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1).

Review Date: 8/14/2004
Reviewed By: Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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