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Central scotoma

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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Central scotoma is an area of depressed vision that corresponds with the point of fixation and interferes with central vision. It suggests a lesion between the optic nerve head and the chiasm.

Possible causes include:

  • multiple sclerosis - which may cause unilateral or asymmetrical bilateral scotoma
  • methyl alcohol - which may cause symmetrical bilateral scotoma
  • nutritional causes - which may be due to, e.g. alcohol or tobacco amblyopia, B12 deficiency
  • vascular lesions - which may cause unilateral scotoma
  • gliomas of the optic nerve - this may cause unilateral scotoma
  • simple glaucoma - which may initially cause an off-centre scotoma

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