Abstract | BACKGROUND: CASE: A 46-year-old Japanese man with a complaint of visual difficulties in dim light for 1 month. OBSERVATIONS: By electrophysiological investigation, the patient was found to have low levels of serum zinc and vitamin A on admission. The rod b wave was unrecordable, and the bright-flash ERGs were reduced, with the a wave > b wave. The amplitudes of the cone and 30-Hz flicker responses were also reduced, and their implicit times were prolonged. Three weeks after admission, the patient's serum zinc level recovered to normal levels, but his serum vitamin A level was still low. The symptoms of night blindness were gone, and the rod ERGs and single bright-flash responses were within normal limits. However, the cone ERGs and 30-Hz flicker responses were still depressed. CONCLUSIONS: The recovery of scotopic function together with the recovery of zinc but not vitamin A levels suggests that the ERG changes were most likely related to low zinc levels.
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Authors | Kiyofumi Mochizuki, Hiroki Murase, Motoaki Imose, Hideaki Kawakami, Akira Sawada |
Journal | Japanese journal of ophthalmology
(Jpn J Ophthalmol)
2006 Nov-Dec
Vol. 50
Issue 6
Pg. 532-536
ISSN: 0021-5155 [Print] Japan |
PMID | 17180528
(Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
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Chemical References |
- Cholagogues and Choleretics
- Vitamin A
- Zinc
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Topics |
- Cholagogues and Choleretics
(administration & dosage)
- Dark Adaptation
- Electroretinography
- Fluorescein Angiography
- Humans
- Liver Function Tests
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Night Blindness
(blood, physiopathology)
- Photic Stimulation
- Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate
(physiology)
- Recovery of Function
- Visual Fields
- Vitamin A
(blood)
- Vitamin A Deficiency
(blood)
- Zinc
(blood, deficiency)
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