Optic glioma

Alternative names:

glioma - optic

Symptoms:

• vision losses
  • one or both eyes
  • general decrease in vision, or a decrease in the visual fields (such as a loss of peripheral vision)
  • eventual blindness

• eye may bulge outward (late symptom)
• headaches

Signs and tests:

An examination shows vision losses in one or both eyes, including visual field defects. There may be optic disc or nerve head changes in the optic nerve, including papilledema (swelling of the nerve), or paleness and atrophy of the optic disk. There may be indications of astrocytoma in other locations of the brain, including signs of increased pressure within the brain (intracranial pressure). There may be signs of NF1.

• A head CT scan or MRI of the head confirms the diagnosis and the exact location of the tumor.
• A cerebral angiography is not often necessary, but if used, it shows a space-occupying mass which is not vascular.
• An EEG is not often useful in the diagnosis of optic glioma, but may reveal focal (localized) abnormalities if there are other astrocytomas present in the brain.
• An examination of tissue removed from the tumor during surgery or CT scan-guided biopsy is used to confirm the exact type of tumor.