Acute macular neuroretinopathy: A comprehensive review of the literature

Abstract

Acute macular neuroretinopathy is a relatively rare condition originally defined by the presence of intraretinal, reddish-brown, wedge-shaped lesions, the apices of which tend to point toward the fovea. Acute onset of paracentral scotomas corresponding to the clinically evident lesions is both common and characteristic. Although the pathogenesis of acute macular neuroretinopathy is complex, recent research suggests a microvascular etiology. Advances in multimodal imaging have enabled better characterization of this retinal disorder and have led to newly proposed diagnostic criteria. We review 101 reported cases in the English and non-English language literature identified from 1975, when acute macular neuroretinopathy was first described, to December, 2014. We discuss common risk factors, demographic and clinical characteristics, and multimodal imaging findings, which together provide insights into pathogenesis and guide areas of future investigation.

Keywords: AMN; AMNR; AMOR; DCI; PAMM; acute macular neuroretinopathy; deep capillary ischemia; multimodal imaging; optical coherence tomography; paracentral acute middle maculopathy.