[Incipient or presymptomatic nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy].

CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 62-year-old man with classic nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) in the left eye and incipient NAION in the right eye. Incipient NAION progressed to classic NAION after 3 weeks. There was no ocular, orbital, neurologic, or systemic disorder that was responsible for optic disc edema. DISCUSSION: Recently, Hayreh has described the new entity, incipient NAION. Diagnostic criteria include asymptomatic optic disc edema and no visual loss in the contralateral eye of patients affected by NAION. Incipient NAION represents the earliest asymptomatic clinical stage in the evolution of the NAION disease process. There is no treatment for this entity. Steps should be taken to treat risk factors for NAION to reduce the risk of progression of incipient to classic NAION .