Abstract
A 61-year-old woman with progressive blindness, initially responsive to steroid therapy, was found to have an undifferentiated neoplasm in the cervix uteri. Visual fields demonstrated ring scotomas and the electroretinographic pattern eventually became flat. The interval from onset of visual symptoms to blindness was 19 months. Eye pathologic findings included loss of retinal photoreceptors, a macular hole, and normal optic nerves. Antibodies were demonstrated in the patient's serum to normal fresh human retinal photoreceptors. An autoimmune mechanism may have been responsible for the retinal degeneration in this patient, and such a hypothesis raises questions about (1) autoimmune mechanisms in patients with retinitis pigmentosa and other retinal degenerative diseases and (2) autoimmune mechanisms in other cases of remote effects of carcinoma.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.