Abstract
There are only about 100 case reports on the Acute Idiopathic Blind Spot Enlargement
Syndrome (AIBSES). This is characterised by the eponymous visual field loss in the
blind spot area, acute onset photopsia, and funduscopically little or no change in
the optic disc area, with conspicuous outer retinal bands on optical coherence tomography
(OCT). Typical is the unilateral occurrence. Predominantly young women are affected.
While previous reviews of AIBSES either predate the introduction of OCT or focus on
differentiation from potentially related outer retinal conditions (e.g., multiple
evanescent white dot syndrome and acute zonal occult outer retinopathy), the present
review will concentrate on the current perspective and treatment strategies that have
been developed and will aim to help increase awareness. Since the first description
of AIBSES in the late 1980s, the introduction of OCT has simplified the diagnosis
and characterisation of AIBSES as a disease of the outer
retina. Nevertheless, misdiagnosis remains common in the spectrum of optic neuritis,
as AIBSES may be ignored in differential diagnosis.
Key words
retina - neuroophthalmology - intraocular inflammation
