title: Improvement of central visual function following steroid pulse therapy in acute zonal occult outer retinopathy.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to report a patient with acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR) unilaterally, who received steroid pulse therapy. A 42-year-old woman presented with photopsias and severe vision loss in her left eye. Visual acuity was 0.04, and Humphrey visual field testing showed overall depression with a mean deviation (MD) value of -25.78 dB in the left eye. Fundus and angiographic examinations found no specific abnormal findings, leading to a diagnosis of AZOOR. Optical coherence tomography showed attenuation of the photoreceptor inner segment/outer segment junction (IS/OS) line. Focal macular electroretinography (fmERG) demonstrated that there were non-detectable responses at 5°, 10° and 15° (in diameter). Following steroid pulse therapy, her visual acuity was 1.0, her MD value improved to -16.08 dB, and there were both partial recovery of the IS/OS line and apparent improvements of fmERG responses (at 10° and 15°). The present findings suggest that steroid pulse therapy might potentially be an effective treatment in some AZOOR patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kitakawa
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Hirotsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takashina
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitooka
authors.forename: Tamaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gekka
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsuneoka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008776:Methylprednisolone Hemisuccinate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000502:physiology*; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020551:Pulse Therapy, Drug; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects*; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D008776:Methylprednisolone Hemisuccinate; D011239:Prednisolone