U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

Scintillating scotoma

MedGen UID:
66716
•Concept ID:
C0235068
•
Sign or Symptom
Synonyms: Scintillating Scotoma; Scintillating Scotomas; Scotoma, Scintillating; Scotomas, Scintillating
SNOMED CT: Scintillating scotoma (2228002); Flittering scotoma (2228002); Teichopsia (2228002); Fortification figures (2228002); Fortification spectra (2228002)
 
HPO: HP:0010822

Definition

A scintillating scotoma is a common visual aura that can precede a migraine, whereby a spot of flickering light near the center of the visual fields occurs. The spot prevents vision, and is thus termed scotoma. The scotoma can extend into one or more shimmering arcs of white or colored flashing lights. [from HPO]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVScintillating scotoma

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Treatment of Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy With Intravitreal Steroids.
Barnes AC, Lowder CY, Bessette AP, Baynes K, Srivastava SK
Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2018 Jul 1;49(7):504-509. doi: 10.3928/23258160-20180628-06. PMID: 30021037
Recommendations for the treatment of hypertension in the elderly and very elderly--a scotoma within international guidelines.
Schäfer HH, De Villiers JN, Sudano I, Dischinger S, Theus GR, Zilla P, Dieterle T
Swiss Med Wkly 2012;142:w13574. Epub 2012 May 9 doi: 10.4414/smw.2012.13574. PMID: 22573500
Expanding treatment options for cocaine dependence.
Brady KT
Am J Psychiatry 2009 Nov;166(11):1209-10. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09091312. PMID: 19884233

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Clinical features of visual migraine aura: a systematic review.
Viana M, Tronvik EA, Do TP, Zecca C, Hougaard A
J Headache Pain 2019 May 30;20(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s10194-019-1008-x. PMID: 31146673Free PMC Article
A knockout punch: C. Miller Fisher's migraine accompaniments.
Young WB
Headache 2008 May;48(5):726-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2008.01115.x. PMID: 18471122
Migraine with aura: visual disturbances and interrelationship with the pain phase. Vågå study of headache epidemiology.
Sjaastad O, Bakketeig LS, Petersen HC
J Headache Pain 2006 Jun;7(3):127-35. Epub 2006 Jun 15 doi: 10.1007/s10194-006-0301-7. PMID: 16767529Free PMC Article
Late-life migraine accompaniments as a cause of unexplained transient ischemic attacks.
Fisher CM
Can J Neurol Sci 1980 Feb;7(1):9-17. PMID: 7388704
The scintillating scotoma without headache.
Wiley RG
Ann Ophthalmol 1979 Apr;11(4):581-5. PMID: 453755

Diagnosis

Seeing Blue Dots After COVID-19 Infection.
D'Souza HS, Tailor PD, Olsen TW
JAMA Ophthalmol 2023 Jan 1;141(1):97-98. doi: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2022.5235. PMID: 36480182
Clinical features of visual migraine aura: a systematic review.
Viana M, Tronvik EA, Do TP, Zecca C, Hougaard A
J Headache Pain 2019 May 30;20(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s10194-019-1008-x. PMID: 31146673Free PMC Article
Photopsias: A Key to Diagnosis.
Brown GC, Brown MM, Fischer DH
Ophthalmology 2015 Oct;122(10):2084-94. Epub 2015 Aug 3 doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.06.025. PMID: 26249730
Features of migraine aura in teenagers.
Petrusic I, Pavlovski V, Vucinic D, Jancic J
J Headache Pain 2014 Dec 12;15(1):87. doi: 10.1186/1129-2377-15-87. PMID: 25496701Free PMC Article
Migraine-like visual aura due to focal cerebral lesions: case series and review.
Shams PN, Plant GT
Surv Ophthalmol 2011 Mar-Apr;56(2):135-61. doi: 10.1016/j.survophthal.2010.07.005. PMID: 21335146

Therapy

Optic Neuritis Mimicking Migraine with Scintillating Scotoma.
Hoshina Y, Fallah S, Baker V
Am J Med 2021 Nov;134(11):e548-e549. Epub 2021 Jun 5 doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2021.04.040. PMID: 34102159
Paediatric migraine with visual hallucination auras appearing in the form of a human body.
Akiyama O, Kondo A, Akiyama I
BMJ Case Rep 2019 Dec 2;12(12) doi: 10.1136/bcr-2019-232358. PMID: 31796436Free PMC Article
Unilateral papilloedema after hepatitis B vaccination in a migraine patient. A case report including forensic aspects.
Fledelius HC
Acta Ophthalmol Scand 1999 Dec;77(6):722-4. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0420.1999.770626.x. PMID: 10634574
Scintillating scotoma as the first symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus.
Honda Y
Metab Pediatr Syst Ophthalmol (1985) 1987;10(1):22-3. PMID: 3509277
Significance of scintillating scotoma of late onset.
Raymond LA, Kranias G, Glueck H, Miller MA
Surv Ophthalmol 1980 Sep-Oct;25(2):107-13. doi: 10.1016/0039-6257(80)90154-x. PMID: 7444757

Prognosis

Progressing Scintillating Scotoma Captured on Automated Visual Field Testing.
Yohannan J, Jampel H
Ophthalmology 2016 Jun;123(6):1395-6. Epub 2016 Feb 4 doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.01.002. PMID: 26854039
Association of transseptal punctures with isolated migraine aura in patients undergoing catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias.
Chilukuri K, Sinha S, Berger R, Marine JE, Cheng A, Nazarian S, Scherr D, Spragg D, Calkins H, Henrikson CA
J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2009 Nov;20(11):1227-30. Epub 2009 Jun 26 doi: 10.1111/j.1540-8167.2009.01525.x. PMID: 19563357
Natural course and pathogenesis of transient focal neurologic symptoms during pregnancy.
Liberman A, Karussis D, Ben-Hur T, Abramsky O, Leker RR
Arch Neurol 2008 Feb;65(2):218-20. doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2007.50. PMID: 18268190
A general linear model for MEG beamformer imaging.
Brookes MJ, Gibson AM, Hall SD, Furlong PL, Barnes GR, Hillebrand A, Singh KD, Holliday IE, Francis ST, Morris PG
Neuroimage 2004 Nov;23(3):936-46. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.06.031. PMID: 15528094
The scintillating scotoma without headache.
Wiley RG
Ann Ophthalmol 1979 Apr;11(4):581-5. PMID: 453755

Clinical prediction guides

Surgical treatment of spontaneous common carotid dissection: a case report.
Salvati B, Tesori MC, Lombardo F, Donello C, Lange KJ, Capoano R
Ann Ital Chir 2014 Sep 18;85(ePub) PMID: 25262660
Wada test using secobarbital sodium (Ional) to determine language dominance.
Yamaguchi T, Shojima M, Delashaw JB Jr, Watanabe E
Br J Neurosurg 2011 Apr;25(2):203-9. Epub 2010 Sep 20 doi: 10.3109/02688697.2010.515319. PMID: 20854063
Spatio-temporal imaging of cortical desynchronization in migraine visual aura: a magnetoencephalography case study.
Hall SD, Barnes GR, Hillebrand A, Furlong PL, Singh KD, Holliday IE
Headache 2004 Mar;44(3):204-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2004.04048.x. PMID: 15012656

Recent systematic reviews

Clinical features of visual migraine aura: a systematic review.
Viana M, Tronvik EA, Do TP, Zecca C, Hougaard A
J Headache Pain 2019 May 30;20(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s10194-019-1008-x. PMID: 31146673Free PMC Article

Supplemental Content

Table of contents

    Clinical resources

    Practice guidelines

    • PubMed
      See practice and clinical guidelines in PubMed. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.
    • Bookshelf
      See practice and clinical guidelines in NCBI Bookshelf. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.

    Consumer resources

    Reviews

    Related information

    • MeSH
      Related Medical Subject Headings
    • PMC Articles
      Related information in PubMed Central Links
    • PubMed
      Related literature resources in PubMed

    Recent activity

    Clear Turn Off Turn On

    Your browsing activity is empty.

    Activity recording is turned off.

    Turn recording back on

    See more...