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Review
. 2021 Jun 17:15:2537-2544.
doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S272333. eCollection 2021.

Spotlight on Asteroid Hyalosis: A Clinical Perspective

Affiliations
Review

Spotlight on Asteroid Hyalosis: A Clinical Perspective

Daniel Andrew Richard Scott et al. Clin Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Asteroid hyalosis is a benign degenerative condition of the vitreous that is often asymptomatic. Our purpose with this narrative review is to provide a current overview of asteroid hyalosis from a clinical perspective. We review the epidemiology and risk factors, the clinical diagnosis and differential diagnoses, clinical challenges in eyes with asteroid hyalosis, and the treatment of asteroid hyalosis. Many clinical questions remain unanswered, and the current evidence to guide clinical practice is largely based on anecdotal evidence and clinical experience. More studies on asteroid hyalosis from a clinical perspective are warranted.

Keywords: Benson’s disease; asteroid hyalosis; narrative review; vitreous opacities.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Appearance of asteroid hyalosis in slit-lamp with direct focal illumination (A) and retinal examination here seen using a fundus photography (B).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Asteroid hyalosis is seen as numerous hyperreflective foci in the vitreous in cross-sectional optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans (A) as well as 3D OCT (B), and as small round hyperechoic elements in the vitreous in B-scan ultrasonography (C).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scanning laser ophthalmoscopy-based systems such as OPTOS may enable retinal examination to a certain degree.

References

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