Retinal Diseases that Can Masquerade as Neurological Causes of Vision Loss

Abstract

Purpose of review.-This review aims to discuss retinal diseases that may masquerade as neurological causes of vision loss and highlights modern ophthalmic ancillary testing that can help to establish these diagnoses.Recent findings.-Retinal diseases with signs and symptoms overlapping with neurological causes of vision loss include central serous chorioretinopathy, retinal vascular insufficiency, acute macular neuroretinopathy, big blind spot syndrome, paraneoplastic retinopathy, retinal dystrophy, and toxic retinopathy. Diagnosis is facilitated by electrophysiologic studies and multimodal ophthalmic imaging including optical coherence tomography and fundus autofluorescence imaging. Looking into the future, translation of adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy into clinical practice may facilitate early detection of microscopic retinal abnormalities that characterize these conditions.Summary.-With conventional methods of physical examination, diagnosis of retinal diseases that may masquerade as neurological causes of vision loss can challenging. Current advance in multimodal ophthalmic imaging along with electrophysiologic studies enhance the provider's ability to make early diagnosis and monitor progression of these conditions.