The Fuchs spot (also known as Förster-Fuchs' Spot
) is a degeneration of the
macula in cases of high
myopia
Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...
. It is named after the two persons who first described it:
Ernst Fuchs, who described a pigmented lesion in 1901, and
Forster, who described
subretinal neovascularization in 1862.
It occurs due to proliferation of
retinal pigment epithelium associated with choroidal hemorrhage.
The size of the spots are proportionate to the severity of the pathological myopia.
Symptoms
First signs of a Fuchs spot are distorted sight of straight lines near the
fovea
Fovea () (Latin for "pit"; plural foveae ) is a term in anatomy. It refers to a pit or depression in a structure.
Human anatomy
*Fovea centralis of the retina
* Fovea buccalis or Dimple
* Fovea of the femoral head
* Trochlear fovea of the fr ...
, which some days later turn to the typical well-circumscribed patches after absorption of
haemorrhage, and a pigmented scar remains. As in
macular degeneration, central sight is affected.
Atrophy
Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations (which can destroy the gene to build up the organ), poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply t ...
leads to the loss of two or more lines of the
Snellen chart
A Snellen chart is an eye chart that can be used to measure visual acuity. Snellen charts are named after the Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen, who developed the chart in 1862. Many ophthalmologists and vision scientists now use an improved ...
.
Treatment
Fuchs spots are caused by regression of choroidal neovascularization.
Since it is a medical sign, treatment is given for the actual cause. Photothermal laser ablation, photodynamic therapy, anti-VEGF therapy, or a combination of these are the treatment options of choroidal neovascularization due to pathological myopia.
See also
*
Macular degeneration
References
{{Eponymous medical signs for eyes and ears, autocollapse
Eye diseases
Vision