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Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy (AZOOR)

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Albert and Jakobiec's Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology

Abstract

Acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR) refers to an acute-onset outer retinal degeneration that typically manifests in a sectoral distribution and often involves the peripapillary region. Patients classically present with sudden occurrence of photopsias and scotomas, minimal initial funduscopic changes, as well as corresponding electroretinographic and perimetric abnormalities. Multimodal imaging including optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence imaging, and indocyanine green angiography has revealed several defining features of the AZOOR lesion, which is characterized and well-demarcated in late disease by sequential atrophy of the outer retina, retinal pigment epithelium, and choroid. However, the underlying etiology remains unclear and the clinical course is variable. This chapter summarizes the current literature, with an emphasis on the clinical and diagnostic features of AZOOR as well as the potential role of immunomodulatory therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Immunology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Henry Lin, Natasha Kesav, Alexander J. Kaplan & H. Nida Sen

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  1. Henry Lin
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  2. Natasha Kesav
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  3. Alexander J. Kaplan
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  4. H. Nida Sen
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Correspondence to H. Nida Sen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science, Portland, OR, USA

    Daniel M. Albert

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Joan W. Miller

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Dimitri T. Azar

  4. Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Lucy H. Young

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, USA

    Lucia Sobrin

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Lin, H., Kesav, N., Kaplan, A.J., Sen, H.N. (2022). Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy (AZOOR). In: Albert, D.M., Miller, J.W., Azar, D.T., Young, L.H. (eds) Albert and Jakobiec's Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42634-7_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42634-7_8

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