Straight lines become curved? Beware of central exudative chorioretinopathy!

Author: Tian Bei, Chief Physician, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University

Reviewer: Zhang Yu, researcher at Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

When the gorgeous world is suddenly covered with a blurred veil, straight lines are no longer straight, and colors lose their former brightness, have you ever wondered what secrets are hidden behind it?

Today, we unveil a mystery about visual health - central exudative chorioretinopathy, or "central exudative chorioretinopathy" for short. It quietly attacks young eyes and distorts everything in front of them.

Among the many types of ophthalmic diseases, central osmosis is a relatively complex fundus disease, and its pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and treatment methods have attracted much attention. Central osmosis mainly affects the macular area, which is crucial for our central vision and color recognition.

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Central exudative chorioretinopathy, as the name implies, is a chorioretinopathy that occurs in the central area of ​​the macula, characterized by the appearance of new blood vessels in the macula. These new blood vessels not only affect vision, but may also cause bleeding and leakage, leading to a sharp decline in vision. Central exudative chorioretinopathy mostly occurs in young people and young and middle-aged groups, with slightly more female patients than male patients, and most of them occur in one eye. Although its specific cause has not yet been fully clarified, the medical community generally believes that it may be related to factors such as decreased systemic immunity, tuberculosis infection, and toxoplasmosis infection.

The clinical symptoms of moderate osmosis mainly include decreased vision, visual distortion (such as straight lines becoming curved), dark spots or shadows in the center of the visual field, etc. These symptoms are often caused by bleeding or leakage of new blood vessels, which seriously affect the patient's daily life and work. Therefore, once the above symptoms appear, you should seek medical attention in time to avoid missing the best time for treatment.

The diagnosis of moderate osmosis depends on a detailed ophthalmic examination, including visual acuity test, intraocular pressure measurement, fundus examination, and necessary auxiliary examinations such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) and ophthalmic angiography. OCT examination can clearly show the lesions in the macular area, including the presence of new blood vessels and hemorrhages. Ophthalmic angiography injects contrast agents to observe the morphology and leakage of blood vessels in the macular area to further confirm the diagnosis of moderate osmosis.

In terms of differential diagnosis, mesoscopic lesions need to be distinguished from central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) and wet age-related macular degeneration. MSCR also occurs in the macula, but is usually not accompanied by neovascularization; while wet age-related macular degeneration mostly occurs in the elderly over 50 years old, and its pathological characteristics are different from mesoscopic lesions. Therefore, when making a diagnosis, doctors need to comprehensively consider the patient's age, medical history, and various examination results to make an accurate judgment.

The principle of treating mesoscopic lesions is to intervene as early as possible to control the leakage and bleeding of new blood vessels and protect vision. Currently, intraocular injection of anti-VEGF drugs (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor) is the main means of treating mesoscopic lesions. Anti-VEGF drugs (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor) can inhibit the growth and leakage of new blood vessels, promote the regression of lesions and the recovery of vision. During the treatment process, the doctor will develop a personalized treatment plan based on the patient's specific situation and closely monitor the treatment effect.

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It is worth noting that patients with mesothelioma still need to protect their eyes after treatment and avoid prolonged exposure to electronic screens and strong light stimulation. In addition, enhancing the body's immunity is also one of the important measures to prevent the recurrence of mesothelioma. Patients should maintain good living habits and mentality, and regularly check their eye conditions to promptly detect and deal with potential recurrence risks.