Leber optic atrophy

Leber optic atrophy is an inherited affection of the optic nerve, causing defective vision. Its mode of inheritance has been much debated. A Danish ophthalmologist, Ruth Lundsgaard (1901-1945), collected a large number of case stories, something which was possible thanks to Denmark's relatively small population and to the fact that church registers have been preserved from the 18th century.

Ruth Lundsgaard, Leber's disease; a genealogic, genetic and clinical study of 101 cases of retrobulbar optic neuritis in 20 Danish families (Copenhagen, 1944).