Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Ophthalmological Medicine
Volume 2013, Article ID 906920, 5 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/906920
Case Report
Solar Retinopathy: A Multimodal Analysis
Claudia Bruè,
1
Cesare Mariotti,
1
Edoardo De Franco,
1
Yale Fisher,
2
Jacopo Maria Guidotti,
1
and Alfonso Giovannini
1
1
Ophthalmology Section, Department of Neuroscience, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60121 Ancona, Italy
2
Vitreous-Retina-Macula Consultants of New York, 460 Park Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10022, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Claudia Bru` e; claudia.brue@gmail.com
Received 17 December 2012; Accepted 6 January 2013
Academic Editors: J. F. Arevalo and T. Hayashi
Copyright © 2013 Claudia Bru` e et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Purpose. Solar retinopathy is a rare clinical disturbance, for which spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT)
indings are not always consistent. We report on two cases of solar retinopathy and discuss its diferential diagnosis. Methods.
his is an observational case study. Results. A 12-year-old female was referred to ophthalmology for bilateral scotoma. Visual
acuity was 20/50 in both eyes. Fundus examination was unremarkable, except for slight yellowish material in the central macula,
bilaterally. SD-OCT revealed juxtafoveal microcystic cavities in the outer retina, interruption of the external limiting membrane
and the inner and outer segment junctions, with disorganized material in the vitelliform space. Fundus autoluorescence showed
hypoautoluorescence surrounded by a relatively hyperautoluorescent ring, bilaterally. Similar clinical and morphological indings
were detected in a 27-year-old male. Conclusions. Solar retinopathy has a subtle presentation and patients oten deny sun-gazing.
SD-OCT and fundus autoluorescence are noninvasive and useful tools for its diagnosis.
1. Introduction
Solar retinopathy is a rare ocular lesion that can result from
unprotected solar eclipse viewing and also from minimal
gazing at the sun. he consequent photochemical/thermal
retinal damage [1] oten has a subtle presentation, which can
be misleading for its diagnosis.
Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-
OCT) is a noninvasive imaging technique that is useful
for the detection of foveal impairment and to outline the
location and extension of retinal injury from acute solar
retinopathy [2]. However, acute solar retinopathy can some-
times share biomicroscopic and SD-OCT foveal indings
with pathologies such as whiplash injury, sunbed exposure,
ocular trauma, the initial stages of an idiopathic macular
hole, persistent retinal defects following successful macular
hole repair, idiopathic parafoveal telangiectasis, and solitary
macular cysts [3, 4]. Diferential diagnosis is oten handled
according to patient history combined with OCT indings.
Fundus autoluorescence (FAF) is a relatively new and
noninvasive technique that is based on the autoluorescent
properties of retinal luorophores, such as lipofuscin, which
is mainly located in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE).
Reduced content of lipofuscin in the RPE has been described
in cases of light-induced loss of photoreceptors [5]. A history
of acute solar retinopathy in some cases is not reliable and
luorescein angiography does not provide further informa-
tion. Instead, SD-OCT provides a diagnostic aid for relevant
indings, even if these are common to several retinal diseases.
Furthermore, FAF represents an efective tool to detect subtle
changes in the RPE and to provide a better understanding of
the pathophysiology of solar retinopathy.
We report here on the clinical, SD-OCT and FAF imaging
indings from four eyes of two subjects with mild RPE damage
following unprotected sun-gazing.
2. Case 1
A 12-year-old Caucasian female with blond hair and blue
eyes complained about a sudden bilateral blurring in her
central visual ield a few hours ater a long walk in the
mountains on a sunny day. he patient denied any direct sun-
gazing, wearing of a hat and sunglasses, use of systemic and