What to tell the patient with optic neuritis about multiple sclerosis: I. Editorial. II. When a withhold. III. The patient's right to know.

If the ophthalmologist tells the patient with an initial isolated attack of optic neuritis that multiple sclerosis may develop, will he/she worry the patient needlessly or provide useful information that the patient is rightfully entitled to have? In this set of articles, the philosophies and individual circumstances that should influence the ophthalmologist in deciding what information to supply are discussed.