Abstract
Purpose
To report treatment of vitamin A deficiency retinopathy with sublingual vitamin A drops.
Methods
Case report with review of the literature.
Results
A 69-year-old Caucasian woman with a history of small bowel resection presented with progressive symptoms of bilateral nyctalopia and decreased visual acuity. Ophthalmic examination revealed bilateral conjunctival xerosis and fine white granular deposits in the midperipheral retina suggestive of vitamin A deficiency. Full-field electroretinogram (ERG), multifocal ERG (mfERG), and two-color dark adaptometry revealed significant impairment of rod and cone photoreceptor function. Kinetic perimetry demonstrated depressed macular sensitivity with constriction of the finer isopters. After 5 months of treatment with sublingual vitamin A drops, the patient’s vision, ERG, mfERG, dark adaptometry, and perimetry normalized. A review of the literature summarizing the electrophysiologic testing in vitamin A deficiency is also discussed.
Conclusions
This case highlights novel observations on the effects of sublingual vitamin A supplementation for acquired vitamin A deficiency retinopathy. Sublingual vitamin A may represent a viable and efficacious treatment modality for vitamin A deficiency.
References
Lee WB, Hamilton SM, Harris JP, Schwab IR (2005) Ocular complications of hypovitaminosis a after bariatric surgery. Ophthalmology 112:1031–1034. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2004.12.045
Sommer A (1990) Xerophthalmia, keratomalacia and nutritional blindness. Int Ophthalmol 14:195–199
Anastasakis A, Plainis S, Giannakopoulou T et al (2013) Xerophthalmia and acquired night blindness in a patient with a history of gastrointestinal neoplasia and normal serum vitamin A levels. Doc Ophthalmol Adv Ophthalmol 126:159–162. doi:10.1007/s10633-012-9370-x
Chow CC, Mieler WF (2014) Vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmic fundus in autoimmune hepatitis and cirrhosis. Retin Cases Brief Rep 8:164–166. doi:10.1097/ICB.0000000000000031
Apushkin MA, Fishman GA (2005) Improvement in visual function and fundus findings for a patient with vitamin A-deficient retinopathy. Retina Phila Pa 25:650–652
WHO|Micronutrient deficiencies. In: WHO. http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/vad/en/. Accessed 19 Aug 2015
Saker S, Morales M, Jhittay H et al (2015) Electrophysiological and microperimetry changes in vitamin A deficiency retinopathy. Doc Ophthalmol Adv Ophthalmol 130:231–240. doi:10.1007/s10633-015-9484-z
Genead MA, Fishman GA, Lindeman M (2009) Fundus white spots and acquired night blindness due to vitamin A deficiency. Doc Ophthalmol Adv Ophthalmol 119:229–233. doi:10.1007/s10633-009-9200-y
Aleman TS, Garrity ST, Brucker AJ (2013) Retinal structure in vitamin A deficiency as explored with multimodal imaging. Doc Ophthalmol Adv Ophthalmol 127:239–243. doi:10.1007/s10633-013-9403-0
Wachtmeister L, Björkhem I, Diczfalusy U, Emami A (1988) Attempts to define the minimal serum level of vitamin A required for normal visual function in a patient with severe fat malabsorption. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh) 66:341–348
Newman NJ, Capone A, Leeper HF et al (1994) Clinical and subclinical ophthalmic findings with retinol deficiency. Ophthalmology 101:1077–1083. doi:10.1016/S0161-6420(94)38029-8
McBain VA, Egan CA, Pieris SJ et al (2007) Functional observations in vitamin A deficiency: diagnosis and time course of recovery. Eye Lond Engl 21:367–376. doi:10.1038/sj.eye.6702212
Dolan FM, Sandinha T, Purdy A et al (2006) Vitamin A deficiency modifies the mfERG: a case study of rod influence on the mfERG. Doc Ophthalmol Adv Ophthalmol 112:31–34. doi:10.1007/s10633-006-0002-1
Arden GB, Kolb H (1964) Electrophysiological investigations in retinal metabolic disease: their range and application. Exp Eye Res 3:334–347
Spits Y, De Laey J-J, Leroy BP (2004) Rapid recovery of night blindness due to obesity surgery after vitamin A repletion therapy. Br J Ophthalmol 88:583–585
Kemp CM, Jacobson SG, Faulkner DJ, Walt RW (1988) Visual function and rhodopsin levels in humans with vitamin A deficiency. Exp Eye Res 46:185–197
Sandberg MA, Rosen JB, Berson EL (1977) Cone and rod function in vitamin A deficiency with chronic alcoholism and in retinitis pigmentosa. Am J Ophthalmol 84:658–665
McCulloch DL, Marmor MF, Brigell MG et al (2015) ISCEV Standard for full-field clinical electroretinography (2015 update). Doc Ophthalmol 130:1–12. doi:10.1007/s10633-014-9473-7
Hood DC, Bach M et al (2012) ISCEV standard for clinical multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) (2011 edition). Doc Ophthalmol 124:1–13. doi:10.1007/s10633-011-9296-8
Perlman I, Barzilai D, Haim T, Schramek A (1983) Night vision in a case of vitamin A deficiency due to malabsorption. Br J Ophthalmol 67:37–42
Nordén A, Stigmar G (1969) Measurement of dark adaptation in vitamin A deficiency by a new quantitative technique. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh) 47:716–722
Walt RP, Kemp CM, Lyness L et al (1984) Vitamin A treatment for night blindness in primary biliary cirrhosis. BMJ 288:1030–1031
Brown GC, Felton SM, Benson WE (1980) Reversible night blindness associated with intestinal bypass surgery. Am J Ophthalmol 89:776–779
Hayashi T, Gekka T, Nakano T, Tsuneoka H (2011) Improvement in S-cone mediated visual fields and rod function after correction of vitamin A deficiency. Eur J Ophthalmol 21:657–660. doi:10.5301/EJO.2011.6337
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Statement of human rights
For this type of study, formal consent is not required.
Statement on the welfare of animals
This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Singer, J.R., Bakall, B., Gordon, G.M. et al. Treatment of vitamin A deficiency retinopathy with sublingual vitamin A palmitate. Doc Ophthalmol 132, 137–145 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-016-9533-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-016-9533-2