What
is
LHON?
Insights into this rare disease
LHON is a rare genetic disorder. Symptoms usually begin as sudden, painless, profound loss of central vision first in one eye, then the other, causing legal blindness in just months.
Everything about LHON is confusing, it’s even difficult to describe what people affected by LHON can and cannot see.
Worldwide, approximately 35,000 people have LHON vision. About 100 people in the U.S. experience onset each year.
LHON is a mitochondrial disease usually caused by one of several genetic mutations in the mitochondria.
Since LHON is so rare, diagnosis can be difficult. The medical community often suspects, tests for, and treats other causes of sudden vision loss before getting to an LHON diagnosis.
Some people with LHON vision loss also experience other vision issues.
In some cases, an individual carrying an LHON mutation experiences non-vision symptoms that may be associated with the LHON mutation.
