title: [Severe visual loss caused by autoimmune retinopathy].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Autoimmune retinopathy (AIR) is a rare disorder which may present as a paraneoplastic syndrome. AIR is associated with the presence of anti-retinal antibodies. These antibodies are assumed to cause damage to the retina, resulting in progressive vision loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 74-year-old man visited the ophthalmologist with a serious, progressive loss of vision, without any noteworthy abnormalities at routine ophthalmological examination. The electroretinogram was characteristic of loss of photoreceptor function. Anti-retinal antibodies against recoverin were detected in serum. After referral to an internist on account of a suspected diagnosis of paraneoplastic AIR, the patient was diagnosed with a lung carcinoma, confirming the diagnosis of cancer-associated paraneoplastic AIR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An unexplained loss of vision is highly suggestive of paraneoplastic AIR, even in patients without a known malignancy. Laboratory techniques for the detection of the anti-retinal antibody against recoverin have recently been implemented in the Netherlands, facilitating the diagnosis of AIR.
authors: Erasmus MC, Rotterdam.
authors: Josianne C E M
authors: JC
authors: ten Berge
authors: Marco W J
authors: MW
authors: Schreurs
authors: B C M Diana
authors: BC
authors: Dufour-van den Goorbergh
authors: Pauline M
authors: PM
authors: de Witte
authors: Mary J
authors: MJ
authors: van Schooneveld
authors: Aniki
authors: A
authors: Rothova
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010257:Paraneoplastic Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D051603:Recoverin / Q000276:immunology*; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D051603:Recoverin