Transient acute disc swelling associated with improved metabolic control in an adolescent with type-I diabetes: role of dexamethazone therapy

Acute disc swelling in type-I diabetic patients is a distinct syndrome that may be distinguished clinically, particularly from papilloedema due to increased intracranial pressure. This paper reports the first detailed case of this rare condition in which disc swelling seems to be associated with rapid improvement of metabolic control. We suggest that the pathogenesis of disc swelling is related to a local breakdown of the blood retinal barrier at the level of the optic nerve, resulting in an intense leakage. Compression of the optic nerves secondary to this vasculopathy appeared to be reversed by administration of dexamethazone. It is suggested that in diabetic patients with long-standing poor metabolic control, rapid conversion to good metabolic control could have this result. However further information is necessary to substantiate this relationship.