[Retinopathia centralis serosa--stomach ulcer of ophthalmology?]

Centralis serosa retinopathy is regarded in ophthalmology as a psychosomatic disease, although this assumption has not been satisfactorily proven so far. With the use of the Freiburg Personality Inventory (FIP, [4]), the questionnaire for the evaluation of psychosomatic pathological processes [10], and by recording the affliction undergone by stressful events in the patients' lives, the question as to whether a psychogenic contributory cause existed was examined with a control group study (n = 11), parallelised according to age and sex. The results proved significantly that there was a psychosomatic connection, specifically a tendency to somatisation in patients with centralis serosa retinopathy. However, it was not possible to compile a typical personality profile, although it was possible to describe some conspicuous personality features. As a conclusion, the consequences for a subsequent study are being discussed.