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Eyes mCNV What causes mCNV?
What causes mCNV?
About Myopic Choroidal Neovascularization (mCNV)

What causes mCNV?

The vision loss experienced in mCNV is caused by the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the macula. These blood vessels grow due to structural changes in the eye associated with near-sightedness.1

Near-sighted individuals have a longer eyeball than the average person; it is stretched from front to back. As a result, the retina at the back of the eye, responsible for vision, can become thin and prone to changes such as the growth of blood vessels through the release of inflammatory chemicals like vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).1,2 These newly formed blood vessels are weak and can leak, leading to the build-up of fluid in the back of the eye, known as macular oedema.

4 boxes labelled 1 to 4 with arrows between them. The first box contains an image of an eye with light entering and drawing to a point before the back of the eye and the text “a longer eyeball puts the eye under mechanical stress (reference 1)”. The second box shows a blood cell secreting chemicals and the text “Stress triggers inflammation which causes VEGF release (reference 2)”. The third box has arrows leaving the blood vessel and the text “VEGF makes blood vessels grow which are weak and leak (reference 2)”. The final box contains a cross section of an eye with pressure written inside and the text “the fluid raises pressure and causes blurred vision (reference 1)”.

References

  1. NHS Manchester Royal Eye Hospital Retinal Services Information for Patients. Treatment of Myopic Choroidal Neovascularisation (CNV). Available at: https://mft.nhs.uk/app/uploads/sites/2/2018/04/REH-213.pdf. Last accessed May 2025.
  2. Kumar A et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2017;65(2):85.