Abstract
Autoimmune retinopathies (ARs) are uncommon ophthalmic disorders in which autoantibodies directed at various retinal components damage the retina causing progressive vision loss. In most cases, an evaluation reveals an underlying malignancy, placing this condition in the category of paraneoplastic retinopathy (PR) syndromes. Specific forms of PR that have been identified include cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) and melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR). In rare cases, no such malignancy is found, and the patients are considered to have AR. Diffuse photoreceptor degeneration of both cones and rods are present with or without any inflammation. Symptoms usually present bilaterally, and rarely sequentially, over a period of several weeks or months before the underlying malignancy is diagnosed. The diagnosis is made on a high index of suspicion based on the clinical findings.
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© 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Giralt, J., Adan, A. (2008). Autoimmune Retinopathies. In: Shoenfeld, Y., Cervera, R., Gershwin, M.E. (eds) Diagnostic Criteria in Autoimmune Diseases. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-285-8_84
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-285-8_84
Publisher Name: Humana Press
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Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-285-8
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