Infliximab recovers central cone dysfunction with normal fundus in a patient with ulcerative colitis

To report the efficacy of anti-tumor necrosis factor α (anti-TNFα) on autoimmune-mediated macular cone dysfunction in a Japanese woman with ulcerative colitis (UC).

A 41-year-old woman presented with bilateral visual acuity loss and photophobia. She suffered from UC, and had been treated with prednisolone and 5-aminosalicylate since age 37. Although fundus photographs and optic coherence tomography images were unremarkable, electroretinograms (ERGs) were abnormal. A full-field electroretinogram (full-field ERG) revealed mildly decreased cone responses and oscillatory potential responses bilaterally. Importantly, focal-macular ERG (fmERG) and a multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) revealed severe macular cone dysfunction in both eyes. Infliximab, a chimeric monoclonal anti-TNFα antibody, was administrated to treat recurrent abdominal symptoms and continued at 8-week intervals. Almost 6 months after infliximab therapy, the mfERG response (especially in the central retina), the fmERG response, and visual acuity recovered bilaterally. Abdominal symptoms also improved after infliximab therapy.

Bilateral cone dysfunction with normal fundus were observed in a UC patient, resulting in loss of visual acuity and photophobia. This retinopathy may have been caused by an autoimmune mechanism, such as an autoimmune retinopathy or acute zonal occult outer retinopathy, which is most identifiable by ERG changes. This is the first report demonstrating the efficacy of infliximab in autoimmune retinal dysfunction.