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At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

Posterior segment manifestations of Rickettsia conorii infection.

PURPOSE: To characterize and analyze the posterior segment manifestations of Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF), an infectious disease caused by Rickettsia conorii. DESIGN: Prospective, noncomparative case series. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty patients (60 eyes) with serologically proven MSF at the acute stage. METHODS: Patients underwent complete ophthalmic examination, including dilated biomicroscopic fundus examination, fundus photography, and fluorescein angiography. Sequential follow-up examinations were performed in patients with evidence of posterior segment involvement. RESULTS: Of 30 patients, 25 (83.3%) had unilateral (n = 5) or bilateral (n = 20) posterior segment involvement related to MSF. Of those 25 patients, 16 (64%) had no ocular symptoms, and 9 (36%) had ocular complaints. Findings included mild vitreous inflammation (45 eyes [75%]), white retinal lesions (18 eyes [30%]), focal vascular sheathing (5 eyes [8.3%]), multiple arterial plaques (1 eye [1.7%]), intraretinal hemorrhages (14 eyes [23.3%]), white-centered retinal hemorrhages (2 eyes [3.3%]), subretinal hemorrhages (2 eyes [3.3%]), serous retinal detachment (3 eyes [5%]), macular star (2 eyes [3.3%]), cystoid macular edema (1 eye [1.7%]), optic disc edema (1 eye [1.7%]), branch retinal artery occlusion (1 eye [1.7%]), optic disc staining (30 eyes [50%]), retinal vascular leakage (27 eyes [45%]), delayed filling in a branch retinal vein (1 eye [1.7%]), and multiple hypofluorescent choroidal dots (10 eyes [16.7%]). One eye (1.7%) had retinal neovascularization at the 6-month follow-up examination. All posterior segment findings at the acute stage resolved in 3 to 10 weeks, and the final visual acuity was 20/20 in 42 of 45 affected eyes (93.3%). Retinal pigment epithelium changes developed in 9 eyes (15%), with resolved full-thickness white retinal lesions. No other abnormalities were noted in the eye with retinal neovascularization over a further follow-up of 6 months. CONCLUSION: Posterior segment involvement, frequently asymptomatic, is common in patients with acute MSF. Because the diagnosis can be easily overlooked, a careful dilated funduscopic examination, complemented by fluorescein angiography in selected cases, is recommended. Mild vitritis, retinal vasculitis, optic disc staining, white retinal lesions, retinal hemorrhages, and multiple hypofluorescent choroidal dots are the most common manifestations of MSF. Posterior segment changes in a patient with fever and/or skin rash living in or returning from a specific endemic area, especially during the spring or summer, strongly suggest R. conorii infection.

Adolescent↗

Ocular manifestations in the acute phase of leptospirosis.

OBJECTIVES: To study the ocular manifestations during the acute phase of leptospirosis and their incidence in hospitalized patients due to systemic complications, and to verify the importance of routine ophthalmologic care in these cases. METHODS: Twenty-one patients, 20 males and 1 female, with clinical and laboratory (ELISA IgM) diagnoses of leptospirosis were subjected to ophthalmologic examination. RESULTS: We observed conjunctival hyperemia in 18 patients (85.7%), increased retinal venous caliber in 12 patients (57.1%), optic disc redness in 12 patients (57.1%), subconjunctival hemorrhage in four patients (19.0%), optic disc edema in one patient (4.8%), retinal vasculitis in one patient (4.8%), retinal hemorrhage in one patient (4.8%), hard exudates in one patient (4.8%), and papillitis in one patient (4.8%). No anterior chamber reaction was found. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a high incidence of several ocular manifestations in the acute phase of leptospirosis. Despite the systemic severity and high incidence of ocular disorders in the acute phase of leptospirosis, the short-term visual outcome of these patients was good.

Acute Disease↗

Acute retinal necrosis.

We treated 2 patients with unilateral acute retinal necrosis in association with uveitis. The disorder began as anterior uveitis, secondary glaucoma, and retinal vasculitis, and then developed into retinal necrosis within a few months. The aetiology was obscure and the appropriate treatment debatable. We also review reports of patients showing the same clinical characteristics, termed Kirisawa-type uveitis and bilateral acute retinal necrosis, and believe the disorders to be identical.

Acute Disease↗

Clinical features of HTLV-I associated uveitis.

The prevalence of human T cell lymphoma virus type 1 (HTLV-I) was studied among patients with endogenous uveitis. Twelve (15.8%) of 76 uveitis patients with known aetiology or clinical entity were seropositive, the prevalence being comparable with that in the general population of the southwestern area of Japan where HTLV-I is highly endemic. In the comparison, 32 (41.0%) of 78 patients with aetiology or entity undefined uveitis were seropositive for HTLV-I, which indicated a significantly higher seroprevalence than controls matched for sex and age. The 32 cases of clinical entity undefined, HTLV-I positive uveitis were characterised by acute granulomatous or non-granulomatous uveal reactions which were accompanied by vitreous opacities and retinal vasculitis. The uveal inflammatory and retinal vascular changes responded well to topical and/or systemic corticosteroids and resolved in a few weeks in the majority of cases with favourable visual outcome. The disease affected one or both eyes, and eight cases (25%) showed recurrence within a year. The general condition of the patients remained well otherwise during a follow up study (mean follow up time 15.4 months), except for three cases with a possible association of hyperthyroidism. These findings provide additional information favouring an association between HTLV-I and isolated uveitis, a new disease entity which should be termed HTLV-I-associated uveitis.

Adolescent↗

Acute retinal necrosis: insights into pathogenesis from the mouse model.

Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is a relatively rare syndrome that is caused by infection with one of several members of the human herpesvirus family. ARN usually occurs in otherwise healthy patients, although it has also been observed in immunocompromised individuals. It is characterized by retinal vasculitis and haemorrhaging, areas of retinal necrosis, vitreous and aqueous inflammation and optic neuritis. It may affect one or both eyes and frequently results in severely reduced vision or blindness in the affected eye. Results using the mouse model of ARN have provided insight into the pathogenesis of this disease. However, many unanswered questions remain, such as why does only a very small fraction of individuals infected with one or more herpesvirus develop ARN? Increased understanding of the interactions of herpesviruses with T cells and cytokines may enable the development of therapeutic strategies targeted specifically to control viral infection in the eye and/or brain.

Animals↗

Follow-up study of HLA-B-5-associated uveitis.

Six young female patients suffering from recurrent uveitis, all of them HLA B-5 positive, were followed-up 2-7 years (mean 4.5 years). Anterior hypopyon uveitis was present in two patients, retinal vasculitis in all, exudative recurrent retinal detachment in two, resulting in phthysis in one patient. Complete clinical work-up as well as serology were within normal limits. The effect of the corticosteroid therapy applied in all patients was dubious, while Cyclosporine gave only temporary relief in one patient. Promising vitreoretinal surgery was suggested to one patient.

Adolescent↗

Experimental ocular onchocerciasis in cynomolgus monkeys. II. Chorioretinitis elicited by intravitreal Onchocerca lienalis microfilariae.

Chorioretinitis due to onchocerciasis is a major cause of blindness, and the pathogenesis is poorly understood. We have developed an experimental model for onchocercal chorioretinitis using cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Two normal monkeys and two monkeys which had received prior sensitization with subcutaneous injections of live Onchocerca lienalis microfilariae were given intravitreal injections of either 0, 10, 50 or 500 live microfilariae. Posterior segment changes included disc edema, venous engorgement, retinal vasculitis, intraretinal hemorrhage, and progressive retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) disturbances. Histopathological findings included perivascular infiltrates with eosinophils, eosinophilic choroiditis, and RPE hypertrophy, hyperplasia and loss of pigment. Microfilariae in the retina had no surrounding inflammation but were found adjacent to areas of RPE alterations. Overall the inflammatory reaction in the two unsensitized monkeys was more severe than that seen in the sensitized monkeys. The retinal appearance of the monkeys resembled that found in human onchocerciasis, and this model appears to be a promising one for future investigations.

Animals↗

[Experimental uveoretinitis induced in monkeys by retinal S antigen. Induction, histopathology (author's transl)].

S antigen was isolated from human and bovine retinas and purified by two chromatographic steps. Its purity was controlled by SDS-electrophoresis and immunodiffusion. Seven Cynomolgus monkeys received a single subcutaneous immunization with either 50 or 100 micrograms of human S antigen (5 animals) or 100 micrograms of bovine S antigen (2 animals) with complete Freund's adjuvant. All the monkeys had bilateral uveoretinitis and anti-"S" antibodies were found in their serum. The time course of the disease was followed clinically during one year and pathologic features were described at various time intervals. The disease includes prominent retinal vasculitis and granulomatous chorio-retinitis, with a chronic course, and leads after many months to almost complete destruction of the retina, with persistence of inflammatory infiltrates and pigment of cell migration.

Animals↗

Bilateral acute vascular retinal necrosis.

In this paper we report on a patient with obliterative retinal vasculitis which, within a few weeks, led to retinal necrosis with fibrous alterations of the central parts of the retina and annular retinal tears in the periphery. The clinical picture is interpreted as bilateral acute retinal necrosis, corresponding to earlier reports in the literature. Our patient differs from the case reports known to us so far in the purely obliterative-vascular progress form of retinal necrosis, the lack of uveal involvement, the presence of unilateral labyrinthine deafness (probably of vascular origin), and the demonstration of pronounced cerebral atrophy.

Adult↗

Recurrent secondary frosted branch angiitis after toxoplasmosis vasculitis.

PURPOSE: To describe a case of recurrent frosted branch angiitis after treatment of ocular toxoplasmosis. METHODS: In a 6-year-old boy, we found perivascular, creamy, patchy, retinal sheathing in both eyes without any focal necrotizing retinochoroiditis or scarring. IgM antibodies for toxoplasma gondii were also found. The patient was treated with antitoxoplasmosis medication and a systemic steroid. RESULTS: Several years after treatment of the toxoplasmosis, frosted branch angiitis occurred twice without any retinal scarring or serological evidence of toxoplasmosis. After systemic steroid therapy, the angiitis improved without further complications. CONCLUSIONS: Toxoplasmic retinal vasculitis should be considered as a cause of frosted branch angiitis.

Antiprotozoal Agents↗

Ocular features associated with anticardiolipin antibodies: a descriptive study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate ocular features in patients presenting with inflammation in the presence of anticardiolipin antibodies. METHODS: A descriptive study of 13 patients presenting with idiopathic ocular inflammation involving anterior and posterior segment was performed. Patients were followed for a mean follow-up of 22 months (range, 1 to 125). A comprehensive report of ocular involvement, including visual symptoms, visual acuity, clinical characteristics, funduscopic and fluorangiographic features, was reported. Systemic associated symptoms were analyzed. Laboratory investigations included anticardiolipin antibody titers and isotypes, presence of other autoantibodies, and markers of immune system activation. RESULTS: The most common ocular symptom at presentation was blurred vision (eight patients) followed by redness and pain(three patients) and visual loss(two patients). Anterior segment abnormalities, including iritis (eight patients) scleritis (two patients) and filamentary keratitis (one patient), were present in 76% of patients, whereas the most represented feature of posterior involvement was retinal vasculitis (60%) followed by vitritis (38%), retinal detachment (15%), posterior scleritis (7%), and central retinal artery occlusion (7%). All patients had abnormal titers of anticardiolipin antibodies, predominantly IgG isotype; six had markers of immune system activation. CONCLUSIONS: Although posterior pole disease is more commonly associated with anticardiolipin antibodies, the anterior segment can also be involved with a wide spectrum of features. Scleritis has never been previously described as associated with anticardiolipin antibodies. Systemic symptoms are frequently present in association with ocular disease.

Adolescent↗

Atypical reginal vasculitis associated with ticlopidine hydrochloridine use.

PURPOSE: To describe two cases of retinal vasculitis shortly after the initiation of ticlopidine hydrochloride (Ticlid, Roche, Kingsland St, NJ) therapy. METHODS: Case reports of two patients. The first patient was a 43-year-old white woman complaining of spots, floaters, and flashes of lights in both eyes 3 weeks after the initiation of treatment with ticlopidine hydrochloride. The second patient was a 72-year-old woman complaining of decreased visual acuity in the left eye for 2 weeks, 4 weeks after initiating oral administration of ticlopidine hydrochloride. RESULTS: Both patients had resolution of the vasculitis after the discontinuation of ticlopidine therapy. CONCLUSION: The temporal relation and the resolution of symptoms after discontinuation of ticlopidine hydrochloride suggest that the vasculitis was related to the ticlopidine hydrochloride administration. Knowledge of this potential complication of ticlopidine hydrochloride is important for the early diagnosis of this possible drug-induced side effect and the cessation of ticlopidine hydrochloride.

Adult↗

Determination of carbonyl group content in plasma proteins as a useful marker to assess impairment in antioxidant defense in patients with Eales' disease.

PURPOSE: Formation of protein carbonyl groups is considered an early biomarker for the oxidant/antioxidant barrier impairment in various inflammatory diseases. We evaluated the intensity of free radical reactions in patients with Eales' disease, an idiopathic inflammatory condition of the retina. METHODS: Twenty patients with Eales' disease in active vasculitis stage, 15 patients with Eales' disease in healed vasculitis stage and 20 healthy control subjects were recruited for the study. Plasma protein carbonyl groups,plasma glutathione (GSH) superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were determined in erythrocytes. RESULTS: Plasma protein carbonyl content was elevated by a factor of 3.5 and 1.8 respectively in active and healed vasculitis stages. The increase of carbonyl group content in active and healed stage of patients with Eales' disease correlated with diminished SOD activity and GSH content. There was also increased accumulation of TBARS in active and healed vasculitis stages of Eales' disease, and this correlated with diminished SOD activity. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that protein carbonyl group content increases with severity of Eales' disease. The increase in carbonyl content correlated with diminished antioxidant status. This confirms an earlier report that free radical mediated tissue damage occurs in Eales' disease. The determination of protein carbonyl content may be used as a simple biomarker to monitor the efficacy of antioxidant supplementation in controlling retinal vasculitis in patients with Eales' disease.

Adult↗

Differential effect of Bordetella pertussis on experimental posterior uveitis in the black-hooded Lister rat.

The effect of an additional adjuvant, Bordetella pertussis, on the clinical and histopathologic features of experimental autoimmune uveitis in black-hooded Lister rats was investigated. Disease was induced by a single footpad injection of purified retinal S-antigen in Freund's complete adjuvant. In those animals that did not receive B Pertussis the clinical features were those of a retinal vasculitis with disc edema, periphlebitis, and deep retinal infiltrates. In contrast, animals that received B pertussis developed lesions in the pigment epithelium and choroid. Histopathologic studies disclosed focal photoreceptor necrosis associated with mononuclear cell infiltration in both groups of animals. However, in the group that did not receive B pertussis the disease was predominantly a retinitis associated with perivascular infiltration of retinal vessels, whereas in the group that did receive B pertussis the main feature was a focal choroiditis, with superficial retinal lesions being rarely observed. Retinal photoreceptors were the target tissue in both groups of rats, but the route by which they were damaged was altered from predominantly retinal to choroidal by the addition of Bordetella pertussis as an adjuvant. This change may be ascribed to the ability of B pertussis toxin to sensitize vascular endothelium to local mast cell products, these cells being plentiful around choroidal vessels but absent in the retinal circulation.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Risk and prognostic factors of poor visual outcome in Behcet's disease with ocular involvement.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to determine factors correlated with the progression of irreversible visual disturbance in Behcet's disease (BD) with ocular involvement. METHODS: Forty-seven BD patients with ocular inflammation, who presented with the first ocular episode, and who had been followed continuously for 5-10 years in our hospital, were studied. Charts were reviewed for gender, onset age of uveitis, complete or incomplete type BD, HLA-B51 status, final visual acuity at the last remission period, mean number of ocular attacks per year, and clinical findings of iridocyclitis with profuse hypopyon, strong vitreous opacity blocking the observation of retinal vessels, diffuse retinal vasculitis, and exudates with hemorrhage within the retinal vascular arcade. RESULTS: Patients with a visual acuity of < or =20/200 and those with >20/200 differed significantly in the mean number of ocular attacks per year and clinical findings of strong vitreous opacity and exudates within the retinal vascular arcade, but not with regard to the other factors. In addition, the frequency of ocular attacks showed a significant negative correlation with the outcome of visual acuity. Logistic regression analysis indicated a significant association of an average of more than three ocular attacks per year, strong vitreous opacity, and exudates within the retinal vascular arcade with poor visual outcome. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that more than three ocular attacks per year, strong vitreous opacity, and exudates within the retinal vascular arcade are the risk and prognostic factors for a poor outcome of visual acuity in BD patients.

Adult↗

Syphilitic retinitis. A cause of necrotizing retinitis.

A healthy-appearing male patient presented with signs of unilateral fibrinous iritis, necrotizing retinitis, retinal vasculitis, and vitritis, suggestive of a herpesvirus retinitis or acute retinal necrosis syndrome (ARN). The patient, an active homosexual, withheld the details of his sexual history, portraying himself as exclusively heterosexual. With the exception of a positive VDRL and FTA-ABS, the workup was negative. Examination of the cerebrospinal fluid confirmed the presence of neurosyphilis. The patient was successfully treated with intravenous penicillin, which resulted in a complete visual recovery. Syphilitic retinitis must be considered in evaluating patients with necrotizing retinitis.

Adult↗

Sympathetic ophthalmia associated with ocular and cerebral vasculitis: an angiographic and radiologic study.

PURPOSE: To describe a case of sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) associated with ocular and cerebral vasculitis. METHODS: The authors report a 38-year-old woman who presented with bilateral uveitis 7 years after a penetrating trauma to the right eye. Ocular examination included fundus fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography. Medical history disclosed an episode of dysarthria and right-sided weakness. RESULTS: Anterior uveitis was present in the previously injured pseudophakic right eye, which harbored a piece of glass stuck in the lower temporal iris. In the left eye, vitreal inflammation with retinal sheathing and subretinal lesions was predominant. Besides retinal vasculitis, fundus angiography showed choroidal vasculitis. Neurologic studies were compatible with cerebral vasculitis. CONCLUSIONS: In SO, choroidal vasculitis that is invisible clinically can be demonstrated angiographically. Although rare, inflammation can also affect the nervous system.

Adult↗

[Ocular involvement in Behçet's disease: first 5-year-results for visual development after treatment with interferon alfa-2a].

BACKGROUND: Behçet's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis of unknown origin. Up to now ocular involvement has a poor visual prognosis irrespective of immunosuppressive treatment. Now recent open studies have shown that interferon alfa-2a (IFN alfa-2a) is very effective in the treatment of ocular BD. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term development of visual acuity (VA) in patients with severe ocular BD who were treated with IFN alfa-2a. METHODS: We included 15 eyes of 9 patients with an active panuveitis and/or retinal vasculitis due to BD refractory to immunosuppressive treatment. VA before initiation of IFN-therapy was compared to VA at the end of the follow-up time. RESULTS: Mean follow-up time was 68.8+/-10.6 months. Mean duration of IFN-treatment was 40.6+/-17.0 months. With the exception of one patient IFN alfa-2a could be discontinued in complete remission of ocular symptoms. During the follow-up time 10 eyes showed an increase of VA of two lines or more. In 5 eyes VA remained stable. There was no decrease of VA in any eye. If a macular edema was present, a quick response to IFN alfa-2a was seen. No eye developed a pale optic disk during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to conventional immunosuppressants, interferon alfa-2a seems to be much more effective to prevent a loss or decrease of VA over a long period of time in patients with severe ocular BD.

Adult↗