Introduction: Hereditary optic neuropathies, resulting from retinal ganglion cell degeneration, are a heterogeneous group of diseases ranging from asymptomatic forms to legal blindness.
State of knowledge: Two most frequent phenotypes are Kjer's disease, an autosomal dominant optic atrophy caused by OPA1 gene mutations, and Leber's disease due to maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA mutations.
Prospects and conclusion: Both optic neuropathies usually isolated are sometimes associated with extraocular symptoms, especially neurological symptoms, thus justifying a systematic neurological evaluation and brain imaging.
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