Connecting endoplasmic reticulum and oxidative stress to retinal degeneration, TBI, and traumatic optic neuropathy

Traumatic optic neuropathy (TON) is commonly associated with head trauma, and thus is a known comorbidity of traumatic brain injury (TBI). TON has not received much attention in basic research despite being associated with permanent vision loss, color blindness, and loss of visual fields. This mini-review discusses the importance of studying TON in the context of TBI and mechanisms that may be involved in the ongoing optic nerve degeneration of TON. We focus particularly on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and redox stress processes because of the overlapping presence of these degenerative mechanisms in both TBI and various retinopathies, even though these stress pathways have not yet been used to explain retinal degeneration in a model of TON. We propose that future research is needed to uncover whether ER and redox stress function independently or whether one precedes the other. This understanding is necessary in order to understand the time frames of potential treatment and the prognosis of ongoing secondary effects of TBI including optic nerve injury.