[Neuroretinitis]

Klin Monbl Augenheilkd. 1984 Feb;184(2):94-8. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1054418.
[Article in German]

Abstract

Eight patients presenting with the characteristic clinical picture of neuroretinitis are described. The decrease in visual acuity was caused by a papillitis, whereas the macular star developed later in the course of the disease when the visual acuity had already recovered. Five of our 8 cases were adults, a fact which demonstrates that neuroretinitis is not only confined to childhood. Three of the 8 cases were bilateral, two of them children. Two patients presented with neuroretinitis and additional inflammatory processes of other ocular segments (one with chorioretinitis and vasculitis; one with scleritis and uveitis), suggesting that a general vascular inflammation may be present in neuroretinitis. The macular star is produced by lipid-rich exudate in Henle's nerve fiber layer, thus giving the picture of stellate retinopathy. The exudate probably leaks from the disk due to a defect in the blood-tissue barrier or a loosening of the border tissue at the disk margin. The etiology of neuroretinitis remains an enigma. Serologic and cultural tests for preceding viral infections have so far been inconclusive.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Child
  • Female
  • Fluorescein Angiography
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Optic Neuritis / complications*
  • Optic Neuritis / diagnosis
  • Retinitis / complications*
  • Retinitis / diagnosis