1/146. Through a shade darkly. A 43-year-old man complained of difficulty seeing in dim light (nyctalopia). A prolonged photostress test and abnormal electroretinogram confirmed retinal rather than optic nerve dysfunction. vitamin a deficiency secondary to remote ileal-jejunal bypass was diagnosed, and his visual symptoms and signs reversed with oral vitamin A supplementation. ( info) |
2/146. Unusual combination of night blindness and optic neuropathy after biliopancreatic bypass. night blindness and optic neuropathy were the presenting symptoms of an iatrogenic malabsorption syndrome in a 64-year old female. This case illustrates the necessity of lifelong vitamin supplementation after biliopancreatic bypass for morbid obesity. ( info) |
| We examined the sequence of the arrestin gene in two unrelated patients with Oguchi disease. A 35-year-old woman and a 72-year-old man underwent a complete ophthalmological examination, including evaluation of visual acuity and color vision, fundus examination, and electroretinography. A golden-yellow discoloration was observed in their fundi. After 30 minutes of dark adaptation, the discoloration in the fundus disappeared. A deletion of an adenine in codon 309 of exon 11 of the arrestin gene was identified in both patients. Mutations in the arrestin are common in Japanese patients with Oguchi disease. ( info) |
4/146. Familial occurrence of retinitis punctata albescens and congenital sensorineural deafness. PURPOSE: To report the cotransmission of retinitis punctata albescens (RPA) and congenital sensorineural deafness. methods: case reports of two siblings with nyctalopia and profound bilateral sensorineural deafness. RESULTS: The affected siblings, an 11-year-old female and a 7-year-old male, presented with decreased visual acuity and night blindness. In both eyes of both siblings, ophthalmoscopic evaluation disclosed numerous white spots at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium with macular sparing. The rod threshold dark adaptation and electroretinogram tracings were consistent with advanced rod-cone degeneration. CONCLUSION: Two affected members of a family were found to exhibit RPA and congenital sensorineural deafness. This pedigree supports the genetic cotransmission of the traits. ( info) |
5/146. Clinical features of Goldmann-Favre syndrome. A 21-year-old woman complained of progressive loss of visual acuity. She had also had night blindness since she was ten years old. At the eye examination, the vitreous was found to be degenerated in both eyes. The fundus findings were a large retinoschisis in the right macula, edema resembling retinoschisis in the left macula and annular degenerative changes in the midperiphery. ERG and dark adaption were abnormal. This vitreoretinal degeneration was diagnosed as Goldmann-Favre syndrome. ( info) |
6/146. A case of human vitamin a deficiency caused by an inherited defect in retinol-binding protein without clinical symptoms except night blindness. Two German siblings were found to suffer from night blindness and mild retinal dystrophy but no other clinical symptoms of vitamin a deficiency. Even though they had no detectable plasma retinal-binding protein (RBP) and their plasma retinol was exceedingly low, they showed normal physiologic functions and growth. Their RBP gene was found to harbor two point mutations. Their post-prandial plasma levels of retinyl esters were normal, and it is likely that they derived their tissue retinol from retinyl esters. ( info) |
7/146. Fundus albipunctatus and other flecked retina syndromes. BACKGROUND: Several ophthalmic conditions manifest a flecked retina. Developing an understanding of their clinical presentations will enable the practitioner to most appropriately manage these conditions. CASE REPORT: A 27-year-old Middle Eastern woman manifested flecked retinas and nyctalopia. She had been given a diagnosis of retinitis punctata albescens, an inherited, progressive, night blindness; however, the medical history and clinical findings were not consistent with this disorder. Rather, they were consistent with fundus albipunctatus, an autosomal recessive, stationary, night blindness. The clinical presentation of fundus albipunctatus is characterized by discrete, white dots at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium and stable night blindness. A prolonged time for dark adaptation is required to produce normal amplitude electroretinograms in fundus albipunctatus as the result of a delay in the regeneration of rhodopsin. An electroretinogram administered after a prolonged dark adaptation time confirmed the diagnosis of stationary night blindness. CONCLUSION: In order to ensure an accurate diagnosis for fundus albipunctatus, it is important to be aware of the clinical characteristics and appropriate electroretinogram protocol for this disorder. ( info) |
8/146. night blindness precipitated by isotretinoin in the setting of hypovitaminosis A. A 16-year-old male developed night blindness 2 weeks after starting isotretinoin at a dose of 20 mg per day for cystic acne. He also had cystic fibrosis, complicated by hepatic cirrhosis. Despite long-term oral vitamin A supplementation, serum vitamin A levels were found to be 0.3 mumol/L (normal range 0.9-2.5 mumol/L). Oral vitamin A replacement was instituted with resolution of his visual symptoms in 6 months. isotretinoin therapy was successfully continued with no deterioration in liver function. isotretinoin has been reported to cause deterioration in night vision. in vitro evidence suggests isotretinoin may interfere with the processing of endogenous vitamin A in the retina. This case highlights the need for careful monitoring of serum vitamin A status in patients with malabsorptive states on isotretinoin therapy. ( info) |
9/146. Clinical and immunocytochemical findings in a case of melanoma-associated retinopathy. OBJECTIVE: To describe an unusual case of melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR). DESIGN: Retrospective, observational case report and experimental study. PARTICIPANTS: A 61-year-old man with a history of cutaneous melanoma, acquired bilateral central scotomas, and night blindness. INTERVENTION: Serial full-field electroretinography (ERG) and Goldmann perimetry were performed. serum was screened for cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) antibodies by Western blotting. Sections of human and rat retina were examined by immunofluorescence microscopy to determine whether retinal cells were reactive with this patient's serum. A metastatic workup was performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: electroretinography, Goldmann visual field testing, and immunocytochemistry were performed. RESULTS: The results were as follows: (1) The ERG showed a profound loss of the b-wave amplitude and a "negative" b-wave characteristic of congenital stationary night blindness; (2) a central scotoma and peripheral constriction were identified on Goldmann visual field tests; (3) as in other patients with MAR, bipolar cells in human and rat retinas were immunolabeled with this patient's serum; and (4) a previously unsuspected focus of metastatic melanoma was discovered. CONCLUSIONS: Recognition of this condition may help to identify an occult focus of metastatic melanoma. ( info) |
10/146. Electroretinograms and visual evoked potentials elicited by spectral stimuli in a patient with enhanced S-cone syndrome. PURPOSE: To evaluate the properties of the retina of a Japanese patient with enhanced S-cone syndrome by analyzing electroretinograms (ERGs) and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) elicited by different spectral stimuli. methods: Ganzfeld spectral flashes in the presence of strong white adapting background illumination were used to elicit cone ERGs and VEPs. RESULTS: The cone ERG elicited in the patient by short wavelength stimuli was distinctly different from the normal S-cone ERG. The action spectrum of the cone ERG confirmed its relative hypersensitivity to short wavelengths. The action spectrum of the VEP for the patient showed a similar relative hypersensitivity to short wavelengths. The response of the VEPs to short wavelength stimuli was different in waveform from the VEP response to longer wavelength stimuli observed in a normal subject. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the hypersensitivity to short wavelengths is transmitted to the central nervous system and that there is a short wavelength transducing photopigment in many of the photoreceptors, either abnormal S-cones or photopic rods. ( info) |