Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDefinitionCausesSymptomsDiagnosisTreatmentPrognosis
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Definition
Causes
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prognosis
Central vision loss refers to the sudden or gradual loss ofcentral vision. People with this type of vision loss have side vision but can’t see detail in the center of their field of vision. Instead, they will see one or more dark or blurry spots in their field of vision. These spots may grow in size or multiply over time.
This article will discuss central vision loss, its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
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What Is Central Vision Loss?
Central vision loss often happens because there is an interruption in this process, usually due to damage to themacula, which is at the center of the retina. Central vision loss can be the result of an injury or other health conditions.
What Causes the Loss of Central Vision?
The most common cause of central vision loss isage-related macular degeneration(AMD).
Symptoms of Central Vision Loss
Central vision loss often starts with a single small dark spot in the center of one’s vision that enlarges over time.But it doesn’t always happen like that for everyone.
Other symptoms can include:
What Are the Early Warning Signs of Macular Degeneration?
Some of these tests may include:
Is there a Cure for Central Vision Loss?
The treatment for central vision loss can vary and often depends on the underlying cause.
Some of these conditions can include the following:
Surgery may also be a treatment option. There are surgeries being piloted during which the natural lens on the eye is removed and replaced with an artificial telescopic lens.Some of these procedures are still in the experimental stages and aren’t broadly available yet, while others have been available for some time.
For patients with conditions like AMD, another treatment for central vision loss can include wearingspecial glasses, which can help the patient see better.
Generally speaking, treatment will depend on the reason for the central vision loss and may require multiple strategies.
Living With Central Vision LossRehabilitation programs for central vision loss teach patientscoping strategiesand adaptation techniques to better live with the condition.
Living With Central Vision Loss
Rehabilitation programs for central vision loss teach patientscoping strategiesand adaptation techniques to better live with the condition.
What Is the Prognosis for Central Vision Loss?
A person’s prognosis for central vision loss will depend on their individual situation, including the health condition causing the vision loss.
Some people with central vision loss may only experience a minor loss in their central vision that can be restored through certain medical interventions or surgeries. For example, central vision loss that results from cataracts may be reversed when the cataracts are surgically removed. Other conditions causing central vision loss, such as holes in the macula, may even heal on their own.
However, that may not often be the case for many patients. Most patients will likely require some kind of medical intervention to either slow, stop, or reverse the central vision loss.
There is also a possibility that the patient may eventually experience significant or total loss of vision. That will not be true in many cases, though.
Some people with central vision loss may be able to work and function at or close to what their capacity was before they developed the vision loss. Others will develop more severe cases and live with more restrictions. In these cases, patients may have to learn to adopt extensive adaptations in order to better cope with their situation.
Living With Macular Telangiectasia Type 2 (MacTel2)
Early DetectionEarly detection and intervention are often key to a better prognosis. Regular eye exams are important. If you have a personal or family history of eye disease, have diabetes or high blood pressure, have had an injury or trauma to your eye or eyes, or are older, make sure to have an annual eye exam.
Early Detection
Early detection and intervention are often key to a better prognosis. Regular eye exams are important. If you have a personal or family history of eye disease, have diabetes or high blood pressure, have had an injury or trauma to your eye or eyes, or are older, make sure to have an annual eye exam.
Summary
Central vision loss is reduced vision that affects the ability to see detail in the center of the field of vision. It is associated with a number of conditions such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
Central vision loss is treated in various ways depending on the cause. In some cases, vision can be restored with treatment. Other people may experience significant loss of vision that can’t be reversed. If it’s not possible to reverse the central vision loss or slow down its pace, other treatment plans are available to help you better manage the condition.
17 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Muth CC.Sudden vision loss.JAMA. 2017;318(6):584. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.7950Beer AL, Plank T, Greenlee MW.Aging and central vision loss: Relationship between the cortical macro-structure and micro-structure.Neuroimage. 2020;212:116670. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116670Coney JM.Addressing unmet needs in diabetic retinopathy.Am J Manag Care. 2019;25(16 Suppl):S311-S316Liu W, Grzybowski A.Current management of traumatic macular holes. JOphthalmol. 2017;2017:1748135. doi:10.1155/2017/1748135Lent-Schochet D, Lo T, Luu KY, et al.Natural history and predictors of vision loss in eyes with diabetic macular edema and good initial visual acuity.Retina. 2021;41(10):2132-2139. doi:10.1097/IAE.0000000000003167Peng ET, Adrean SD.Unusual visual loss in a patient with exudative macular degeneration.Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2022;26:101424. doi:10.1016/j.ajoc.2022.101424American Optometric Association.Glaucoma.American Society of Retina Specialists.Epiretinal membranes.Künzel SH, Lindner M, Sassen J, et al.Association of reading performance in geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration with visual function and structural biomarkers.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2021;139(11):1191-1199. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2021.3826National Health Service.Symptoms - Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Pelletier AL, Rojas-Roldan L, Coffin J.Vision loss in older adults.Am Fam Physician. 2016;94(3):219-26.Erratum in: Am Fam Physician. 2016;94(5):344.Shah S, Dutta P.Neuro-ophthalmology–an approach to common cases in the outpatient department.Delhi J Ophthalmol. 2023;33(4):369-72. doi:10.4103/DLJO.DLJO_198_23National Eye Institute.Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Maguire MG, Martin DF, Ying G, et al.Five-year outcomes with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: the comparison of age-related macular degeneration treatments trials.Ophthalmol. 2016;123(8):1751-1761. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.03.045Nurözler Tabakcı B, Ünlü N.Corticosteroid treatment in diabetic macular edema.Turk J Ophthalmol. 2017;47(3):156-160. doi:10.4274/tjo.56338Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Vision loss and diabetes.Gupta A, Lam J, Custis P, Munz S, Fong D, Koster M.Implantable miniature telescope (IMT) for vision loss due to end‐stage age‐related macular degeneration.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;2018(5):CD011140. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011140.pub2
17 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Muth CC.Sudden vision loss.JAMA. 2017;318(6):584. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.7950Beer AL, Plank T, Greenlee MW.Aging and central vision loss: Relationship between the cortical macro-structure and micro-structure.Neuroimage. 2020;212:116670. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116670Coney JM.Addressing unmet needs in diabetic retinopathy.Am J Manag Care. 2019;25(16 Suppl):S311-S316Liu W, Grzybowski A.Current management of traumatic macular holes. JOphthalmol. 2017;2017:1748135. doi:10.1155/2017/1748135Lent-Schochet D, Lo T, Luu KY, et al.Natural history and predictors of vision loss in eyes with diabetic macular edema and good initial visual acuity.Retina. 2021;41(10):2132-2139. doi:10.1097/IAE.0000000000003167Peng ET, Adrean SD.Unusual visual loss in a patient with exudative macular degeneration.Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2022;26:101424. doi:10.1016/j.ajoc.2022.101424American Optometric Association.Glaucoma.American Society of Retina Specialists.Epiretinal membranes.Künzel SH, Lindner M, Sassen J, et al.Association of reading performance in geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration with visual function and structural biomarkers.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2021;139(11):1191-1199. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2021.3826National Health Service.Symptoms - Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Pelletier AL, Rojas-Roldan L, Coffin J.Vision loss in older adults.Am Fam Physician. 2016;94(3):219-26.Erratum in: Am Fam Physician. 2016;94(5):344.Shah S, Dutta P.Neuro-ophthalmology–an approach to common cases in the outpatient department.Delhi J Ophthalmol. 2023;33(4):369-72. doi:10.4103/DLJO.DLJO_198_23National Eye Institute.Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Maguire MG, Martin DF, Ying G, et al.Five-year outcomes with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: the comparison of age-related macular degeneration treatments trials.Ophthalmol. 2016;123(8):1751-1761. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.03.045Nurözler Tabakcı B, Ünlü N.Corticosteroid treatment in diabetic macular edema.Turk J Ophthalmol. 2017;47(3):156-160. doi:10.4274/tjo.56338Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Vision loss and diabetes.Gupta A, Lam J, Custis P, Munz S, Fong D, Koster M.Implantable miniature telescope (IMT) for vision loss due to end‐stage age‐related macular degeneration.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;2018(5):CD011140. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011140.pub2
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Muth CC.Sudden vision loss.JAMA. 2017;318(6):584. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.7950Beer AL, Plank T, Greenlee MW.Aging and central vision loss: Relationship between the cortical macro-structure and micro-structure.Neuroimage. 2020;212:116670. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116670Coney JM.Addressing unmet needs in diabetic retinopathy.Am J Manag Care. 2019;25(16 Suppl):S311-S316Liu W, Grzybowski A.Current management of traumatic macular holes. JOphthalmol. 2017;2017:1748135. doi:10.1155/2017/1748135Lent-Schochet D, Lo T, Luu KY, et al.Natural history and predictors of vision loss in eyes with diabetic macular edema and good initial visual acuity.Retina. 2021;41(10):2132-2139. doi:10.1097/IAE.0000000000003167Peng ET, Adrean SD.Unusual visual loss in a patient with exudative macular degeneration.Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2022;26:101424. doi:10.1016/j.ajoc.2022.101424American Optometric Association.Glaucoma.American Society of Retina Specialists.Epiretinal membranes.Künzel SH, Lindner M, Sassen J, et al.Association of reading performance in geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration with visual function and structural biomarkers.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2021;139(11):1191-1199. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2021.3826National Health Service.Symptoms - Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Pelletier AL, Rojas-Roldan L, Coffin J.Vision loss in older adults.Am Fam Physician. 2016;94(3):219-26.Erratum in: Am Fam Physician. 2016;94(5):344.Shah S, Dutta P.Neuro-ophthalmology–an approach to common cases in the outpatient department.Delhi J Ophthalmol. 2023;33(4):369-72. doi:10.4103/DLJO.DLJO_198_23National Eye Institute.Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Maguire MG, Martin DF, Ying G, et al.Five-year outcomes with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: the comparison of age-related macular degeneration treatments trials.Ophthalmol. 2016;123(8):1751-1761. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.03.045Nurözler Tabakcı B, Ünlü N.Corticosteroid treatment in diabetic macular edema.Turk J Ophthalmol. 2017;47(3):156-160. doi:10.4274/tjo.56338Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Vision loss and diabetes.Gupta A, Lam J, Custis P, Munz S, Fong D, Koster M.Implantable miniature telescope (IMT) for vision loss due to end‐stage age‐related macular degeneration.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;2018(5):CD011140. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011140.pub2
Muth CC.Sudden vision loss.JAMA. 2017;318(6):584. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.7950
Beer AL, Plank T, Greenlee MW.Aging and central vision loss: Relationship between the cortical macro-structure and micro-structure.Neuroimage. 2020;212:116670. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116670
Coney JM.Addressing unmet needs in diabetic retinopathy.Am J Manag Care. 2019;25(16 Suppl):S311-S316
Liu W, Grzybowski A.Current management of traumatic macular holes. JOphthalmol. 2017;2017:1748135. doi:10.1155/2017/1748135
Lent-Schochet D, Lo T, Luu KY, et al.Natural history and predictors of vision loss in eyes with diabetic macular edema and good initial visual acuity.Retina. 2021;41(10):2132-2139. doi:10.1097/IAE.0000000000003167
Peng ET, Adrean SD.Unusual visual loss in a patient with exudative macular degeneration.Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2022;26:101424. doi:10.1016/j.ajoc.2022.101424
American Optometric Association.Glaucoma.
American Society of Retina Specialists.Epiretinal membranes.
Künzel SH, Lindner M, Sassen J, et al.Association of reading performance in geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration with visual function and structural biomarkers.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2021;139(11):1191-1199. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2021.3826
National Health Service.Symptoms - Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Pelletier AL, Rojas-Roldan L, Coffin J.Vision loss in older adults.Am Fam Physician. 2016;94(3):219-26.Erratum in: Am Fam Physician. 2016;94(5):344.
Shah S, Dutta P.Neuro-ophthalmology–an approach to common cases in the outpatient department.Delhi J Ophthalmol. 2023;33(4):369-72. doi:10.4103/DLJO.DLJO_198_23
National Eye Institute.Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Maguire MG, Martin DF, Ying G, et al.Five-year outcomes with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: the comparison of age-related macular degeneration treatments trials.Ophthalmol. 2016;123(8):1751-1761. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.03.045
Nurözler Tabakcı B, Ünlü N.Corticosteroid treatment in diabetic macular edema.Turk J Ophthalmol. 2017;47(3):156-160. doi:10.4274/tjo.56338
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Vision loss and diabetes.
Gupta A, Lam J, Custis P, Munz S, Fong D, Koster M.Implantable miniature telescope (IMT) for vision loss due to end‐stage age‐related macular degeneration.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;2018(5):CD011140. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011140.pub2
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