Now before we go further into this condition, let’s see what the retina is? It is the inner most layer of the eye where the image is formed. From there the brain interprets it; image formed on the retina is inverted and this is carried to the brain which makes it erect and that’s how we see what we see. The retina has 10 layers of different cells which serve unique function and help in vision. Now due to old age and certain conditions like diabetes and hypertension etc there can be misalignment or damage to any of these layers giving rise to various conditions and disorders.

Central serous retinopathy [CSR] also known as idiopathic central serous choroidopathy is one such condition. The exact cause of CSR is not known. It typically affects males between 20-40 yrs of age. It is now believed that an increase in choroidal hyper-permeability causes a breach in the outer blood retinal barrier causing leakage of fluid and development of localized serous detachment of the neurosensory layer or the retina. The trigger factor for the hyper-permeability has not been completely understood as of yet. But factors like emotional stress, hypertension, and administration of systemic steroids have been reported to aggravate CSR.

The patient of CSR generally presents with sudden onset of painless loss of vision [6/9-6/24] associated with blind spot in the field of vision [scotoma], seeing objects smaller than they are [micropsia] or larger than they actually [macropsia] or distorted shapes and sizes of objects [metamorphopsia]. This occurs due to the separation of the cones in the macula and due to the misalignment there are areas of concentration and scarcity thus creating different variants of the object.
Treatment includes reassuring the patient as one of the major modalities as CSR undergoes spontaneous resolution in 80%-90% of cases. The visual acuity returns to normal or near normal in 4-12 weeks. Another treatment modality is laser photocoagulation which is indicated in long standing cases with marked loss of vision; patients having recurrent CSR with visual loss; and in patients having permanent loss of vision in the other eye due to this condition.

Suggested Further Reading:

1> Central Serous Retinopathy from myeyeworld.com.

2> Central Serous Retinopathy from wikipedia.com.