Factors that May Impact the Risk of Becoming Affected
Most LHON experts suggest that people carrying an LHON mutation, both affected and unaffected carriers, avoid environmental factors that could create additional mitochondrial stress including:
Smoke
Tobacco
Wood stoves
Bonfires
Wildfires
Chemical factory fires
Vaping
Alcohol
Ringer’s lactate
Hyperbaric Oxygen
Antimicrobials
Antibiotics
Erythromycin
Ethambutol
Linezolid
Chloramphenicol
Aminoglycosides
Tetracyclines
Quaternary
Ammonium Compounds
Widely used as disinfectants, fabric softeners, and antistatic agents.
The following are articles that discuss environmental risk factors for LHON.
Having a discussion with your own LHON medical professional about these factors that are discussed in these articles is encouraged.
Any individual who is affected by LHON or is likely to carry an LHON mutation and smokes anything would be wise to stop immediately to reduce risk of harm. A smoking cessation program may be helpful in achieving that goal.
Dr. Alfredo Sadun discussed environmental factors at the 2021 conference, LHON and Environmental Factors - Dr. Alfredo Sadun, 2021 video.
At the 2014 LHON Conference, in the following video, Dr. Valerio Carelli discussed what may influence the risk of onset of vision loss in individuals carrying an LHON mutation.
