Central retinal vein occlusion: what's the story?

Abstract

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) has been a profitable area of study for many investigators. Shameful then that we still do not understand its pathogenesis or know, definitively, how to treat the condition. Many questions still arise when CRVO is considered. Some of these are outlined in this perspective, hopefully as a guide to future investigation. TerminologyIf confusion over nomenclature is an indicator of confusion over the subject then CRVO is no diVerent. Leibreich in 1854 first described the clinical appearance of CRVO as 'retinal apoplexy' 1 followed closely by Leber in 1877 who preferred 'haemorrhagic retinitis'.2 We now use 'central retinal vein occlusion' assuming the presence of a blockage of the vein in the optic nerve head. Hayreh coined the phrases 'venous stasis retinopathy' for the milder types of CRVO and 'haemorrhagic retinopathy' for the more severe disease.

Non-diabetic retinopathy: a case report

“…Branch retinal vein occlusion can also lead to a new vessel formation in the retina or optic disc [6]. Central retinal vein occlusion is defined to be present if there is retinal edema, optic disc hyperemia or edema, scattered superficial and deep retinal hemorrhages, and venous dilation [7].…”

Thrombophilic mutations and risk of retinal vein occlusion

“…Occlusion of the central retinal vein occurs at a variable distance posterior to the lamina cribosa, where the central retinal vein shares a common adventitial sheath with the central retinal artery (37)(38)(39) . On the other hand, BRVO is associated with arteriosclerotic changes in the retinal arterioles and the resultant thickening appears to cause compression of adjacent veins, a process that may be aggravated because the two vessels are confined within a common adventitial sheath (40) .…”

Ophthalmic Complications and Ocular Changes in Pregnancy- A Review

“…Central Retinal vein occlusion may present as a dense central scotoma with subtle intermittent episodes of blurred vision or it may be a sudden, painless monocular vision loss. The nonischemic type is often the more subtle than the ischemic type, with vision loss being more severe and permanent with the ischemia of the choriocapillaris [34].…”