Autoimmune retinopathy

Autoimmune retinopathy (AIR) is a rare immunological disease in which the patient's immune system attacks proteins in the retina, leading to loss of vision. Researchers do not yet fully understand the disease, but it may be the result of cancer or cancer chemotherapy. Autoimmune retinopathy is an autoimmune condition characterized by vision loss, blind spots, and visual field abnormalities. Autoimmune retinopathy can be divided into paraneoplastic (PAIR) or non-paraneoplastic (nPAIR). The nPAIR division can be further divided into cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) and melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR). The condition is associated with retinal degeneration, when autoimmune antibodies recognize retinal proteins as antigens and target them, leading to retinal degeneration.