Acute retinal necrosis

Acute Retinal Necrosis
SpecialtyOphthalmology, optometry

Acute retinal necrosis (ARN)[1] is a medical inflammatory condition of the eye.[2] The condition presents itself as a necrotizing retinitis.[3] The inflammation onset is due to certain herpes viruses, varicella zoster virus (VZV), herpes simplex virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV).[2][3]

People with the condition usually display redness of the eye, white or off-white colored patches that are patches of retinal necrosis.[3] ARN can progress into other conditions such as uveitis, detachment of the retina, and ultimately can lead to blindness.[4]

The disease was first characterized in 1971, in Japan. Akira Urayama and his colleagues had six patients whose cases showed signs of acute necrotizing retinitis, retinal arteritis, choroiditis, and late-onset retinal detachment.[5] The combination of the conditions was given the name acute retinal necrosis.[2] The first reports of ARN came about in 1971. It is unclear whether it was previously just reported as something else. Urayama and his colleagues reported the disease that they saw in six Japanese patients. Since then the disease has been seen in patient's with AIDS, children, and people who are immunocompromised.[2][6] In 1978, Young and Bird named the disease when presented in both eyes, Bilateral Acute Retinal Necrosis, otherwise known as BARN.[6]

  1. ^ Forster, David (1990). "Rapidly Progressive Outer Retinal Necrosis in the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome". American Journal of Ophthalmology. 110 (4): 341–348. doi:10.1016/S0002-9394(14)77012-6. PMID 2220967.
  2. ^ a b c d "Acute retinal necrosis - EyeWiki". eyewiki.aao.org. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  3. ^ a b c Lau, Chun H.; Missotten, Tom; Salzmann, Joel; Lightman, Susan L. (April 2007). "Acute Retinal Necrosis - Ophthalmology". Ophthalmology. 114 (4): 756–762.e1. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2006.08.037. PMID 17184841. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  4. ^ "Acute Retinal Necrosis: Background, Pathophysiology, Epidemiology". 2018-08-22.
  5. ^ "Diagnosing and Managing Acute Retinal Necrosis". www.retinalphysician.com. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).