Superoxide generation explains common features of optic neuropathies associated with cecocentral scotomas.

I have presented above a hypothesis that ties together several disparate optic neuropathies, all characterized by a similar clinical presentation. The hypothesis is predicated on the formation of intracellular superoxide within RGCs as a common pathological pathway for the type of cell death that occurs. The anatomical predisposition of the papillomacular bundle to have elevated superoxide levels is tied to the size of the fibers involved, a hypothesis that also implicates the crossing fibers of the chiasm. Much of this work is speculative and is an interpretation of several experimental studies that have been performed to date. Hopefully, this hypothesis will be developed further, and its validity tested in both experimental models and, ultimately, in humans.