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. 2016 Oct;30(10):1378-1380.
doi: 10.1038/eye.2016.141. Epub 2016 Jul 15.

Postnatal growth of the human optic nerve

S L Bernstein  1   2 , M Meister  1 , J Zhuo  3 , R P Gullapalli  3
Affiliations

Postnatal growth of the human optic nerve

S L Bernstein et al. Eye (Lond). 2016 Oct.

Abstract

PurposeAlthough the length of the average human adult optic nerve (ON) is known, the average length of the normal full-term, newborn ON has never been adequately evaluated, nor has the in vivo growth rate of the human ON been determined. We wanted to identify both the average length of the newborn human ON and its rate of anteroposterior growth.Patients and methodsUsing MRIs from a newly generated set of normal newborn infants rescanned at 1 year, and from different aged groups, we calculated average newborn ON length and growth rate.ResultsThe newborn human ON is 25.3±0.3 mm in length from globe to chiasm, and grows by 80% in length after birth, with maximum speed of elongation occurring in the first 3 years of life, attaining full length by 15 years of age.ConclusionThe human ON grows dramatically in the first 3 years of life, and continues to grow for the first two decades. These data are relevant for pediatric treatments that may impede or alter orbital growth in infants, and maximal susceptibility to oncological procedures in early childhood.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
T1- and T2-weighted MRI-ON images at 0Y, and at 1, 3, 5, and 20Y. 0, 1Y: Representative IBIS images (1/55 section total through entire brain). 3–20Y: Representative non-IBIS images (1/255 sections). ON measurement analysis is shown in the T2/10Y image. ON length was measured from the distal end of the widest A-P globe diameter, and the line extended using the Siemens Leonardo workstation through multiple scans to the anterior edge of the optic chiasm. Results from T1 and T2 images were averaged for each individual. Measurement from a single T2-weighted image is shown for a 10Y individual.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Postnatal ON growth analysis. ON length is shown on the ordinate, while age is shown on the abscissa. ON Mean size in mm±SD. ON growth is most rapid in the first 3 years of life, which then slows considerably from 5 to 10 years (compare slope (1) with slope (2)). A modest further increase in ON growth speed occurs between 10 and 15y, with final ON length achieved by 15 years.
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