A review of diseases of the retina for neurologists.

Diseases of the retina are common and numerous, with causes ranging over inherited, inflammatory, vascular, infectious, neoplastic, traumatic, toxic, and idiopathic etiologies. A key issue in the diagnosis of retinal disease is the duration of symptoms, which can be acute, chronic, or acute presentations of chronic disease. Clinical examination with direct ophthalmoscopy or, even better, biomicroscopy with a slit lamp and condensing lens, is a key component of diagnosis, which can be enhanced through investigational methods such as fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography, or electroretinography. Consideration of the history, visual acuity and visual field, and fundoscopic findings is usually sufficient to determine whether patients need referral on an emergency, urgent, or routine basis. Emphasis is given to vascular disease, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, genetic eye disease, and retinal detachment.