Definition:

Hereditary optic atrophy (OPA) is a group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by a sudden or gradual loss of retinal ganglion cells function. OPA results from degeneration of the retinal ganglion cells whose axons form the optic nerve. Symptoms include a variable association of decreased visual acuity, visual field defects, and color vision abnormalities. All nonsyndromic OPAs characterized to date result from defects in genes encoding mitochondria-related proteins. The most frequent forms of nonsyndromic OPA are autosomal dominant OPA1-linked OPA (OPA1) and mitochondrial DNA-linked, maternally inherited Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). By contrast, autosomal recessive forms of optic atrophies (arOAs) are less frequent, and most cases are syndromic (e.g., OPA3 and OPA7). Isolated or nonsyndromic arOAs are believed to be extremely rare.