Leber hereditary optic neuropathy, progressive visual loss, and multiple-sclerosis-like symptoms

PURPOSE: To report a case of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy with multipl e-sclerosis-like symptoms. METHODS: Observational case report. A 34-year-old man was found to have Leb er hereditary optic neuropathy and a mutation at position 11778 of the mito chondrial genome. The progression of vision loss and onset of weakness in t he right leg warranted neuroimaging. RESULTS: Magnetic resonance imaging documented multiple lesions in the brai n and spinal cord. CONCLUSION: Although rarely reported, progression of optic neuropathy over months has been previously documented in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. The emergence of multiple sclerosis,like symptoms and signs in our patient may be part of the spectrum of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy or a coin cidental occurrence. (C) 2001 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.