Soluble ICAM-1 serum levels in patients with intermediate uveitis

AIM—To investigate whether serum levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1) can serve as a marker of the presence of systemic disease in intermediate uveitis.
METHODS—In a multicentre study sICAM-1 serum levels were measured in 61 patients with idiopathic intermediate uveitis, controls included 56 uveitis patients with a systemic disease (26 sarcoid associated uveitis and 30 HLA-B27 positive acute anterior uveitis), 58 uveitis patients without systemic disease (30 toxoplasma chorioretinitis and 28 Fuchs' hetrochromic cyclitis), and 21 normal controls. The clinical records of the patients with intermediate uveitis were analysed for disease characteristics at the time of blood sampling and for a relation with the development of a systemic disease after a mean follow up of 4.5( )years. 
RESULTS—Increased serum levels of sICAM-1 were found in 34 out of 61 patients with intermediate uveitis and were significantly different when compared with toxoplasmosis, Fuchs' cyclitis, and healthy controls (p<0.001). Elevated sICAM-1 levels were also found in 18 out of 26 patients with sarcoid uveitis and in 11 out of 30( )patients with HLA-B27 associated anterior uveitis. Raised sICAM-1 levels in the intermediate uveitis group were significantly associated with active ocular disease (p<0.01) and the presence of vitreous exudates (p<0.05). Increased levels of sICAM-1 correlated with interleukin 8 levels (IL-8) (tested in a previous study in the same group of intermediate uveitis patients) in patients with active systemic involvement. Follow up of the patients showed that an established or suspected systemic disease was found more often in the 21 intermediate uveitis patients with increased sICAM-1 and IL-8 levels compared with the other 40 patients with intermediate uveitis (p<0.01).
CONCLUSIONS—The measurement of both sICAM-1 and IL-8 can be used as a marker for ocular disease activity and for a predisposition of developing an associated systemic disease in intermediate uveitis patients.


Assessment of conjunctival, episcleral and scleral thickness in healthy individuals using anterior segment optical coherence tomography

Purpose: To determine the thickness of the conjunctiva, episclera and sclera in healthy individuals using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT).Methods: We prospectively included 107 healthy individuals of different age groups (18-39 years, 40-54 years, 55-69 years and &gt;= 70 years). For each eye, AS-OCT scans of four quadrants (temporal, nasal, superior and inferior) were acquired. The thickness of the conjunctiva, episclera and sclera was measured for each scan. In addition, the axial length of both eyes was measured, and general characteristics, including smoking, allergies and contact lens use, were collected.Results: The mean conjunctival thickness was significantly different between the nasal and superior quadrants (87 +/- 30 mu m vs. 77 +/- 16 mu m; p &lt; 0.001), as well as the superior and inferior quadrants (77 +/- 16 mu m vs. 86 +/- 19 mu m; p = 0.001). The mean episcleral thickness was larger in the superior (174 +/- 54 mu m) and inferior (141 +/- 43 mu m) quadrants, compared to the nasal (83 +/- 38 mu m) and temporal quadrants (90 +/- 44 mu m). The mean scleral thickness of the inferior quadrant was the largest (596 +/- 64 mu m), followed by the nasal (567 +/- 76 mu m), temporal (516 +/- 67 mu m) and superior (467 +/- 52 mu m) quadrants (all p &lt; 0.001). The averaged scleral thickness increased 0.96 mu m per age year (0.41-1.47 mu m, p &lt; 0.001).Conclusions: This study provides an assessment of the thickness of scleral and adjacent superficial layers in healthy individuals determined on AS-OCT, which could enable future research into the use of AS-OCT in diseases affecting the anterior eye wall

Assessment of conjunctival, episcleral and scleral thickness in healthy individuals using anterior segment optical coherence tomography

Purpose: To determine the thickness of the conjunctiva, episclera and sclera in healthy individuals using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT).Methods: We prospectively included 107 healthy individuals of different age groups (18-39 years, 40-54 years, 55-69 years and &gt;= 70 years). For each eye, AS-OCT scans of four quadrants (temporal, nasal, superior and inferior) were acquired. The thickness of the conjunctiva, episclera and sclera was measured for each scan. In addition, the axial length of both eyes was measured, and general characteristics, including smoking, allergies and contact lens use, were collected.Results: The mean conjunctival thickness was significantly different between the nasal and superior quadrants (87 +/- 30 mu m vs. 77 +/- 16 mu m; p &lt; 0.001), as well as the superior and inferior quadrants (77 +/- 16 mu m vs. 86 +/- 19 mu m; p = 0.001). The mean episcleral thickness was larger in the superior (174 +/- 54 mu m) and inferior (141 +/- 43 mu m) quadrants, compared to the nasal (83 +/- 38 mu m) and temporal quadrants (90 +/- 44 mu m). The mean scleral thickness of the inferior quadrant was the largest (596 +/- 64 mu m), followed by the nasal (567 +/- 76 mu m), temporal (516 +/- 67 mu m) and superior (467 +/- 52 mu m) quadrants (all p &lt; 0.001). The averaged scleral thickness increased 0.96 mu m per age year (0.41-1.47 mu m, p &lt; 0.001).Conclusions: This study provides an assessment of the thickness of scleral and adjacent superficial layers in healthy individuals determined on AS-OCT, which could enable future research into the use of AS-OCT in diseases affecting the anterior eye wall

Optimizing OCT acquisition parameters for assessments of vitreous haze for application in uveitis

Detection and evaluation of inflammatory activity in uveitis is essential to the management of the condition, and yet continues to be largely dependent on subjective clinical measures. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurement of vitreous activity is an alternative to clinical vitreous haze scoring and has passed a number of early validation studies. In this study we aimed to evaluate the impact of ‘operator factors’ on the variability of the technique as part of the validation process, and to help evaluate its suitability for ‘real world’ use. Vitreous haze index was calculated as a ratio between the reflectivity of the vitreous and of the outer retina in each scan. Different scanning conditions were tested and their effect on the measurement is reported. Our results show that the ‘quantitative imaging’ technique of OCT-measured vitreous activity had good reliability in normal subjects under a range of ‘real world’ conditions, such as when the operator changes the averaging value. The technique was however vulnerable to highly inaccurate focussing or abnormal downward displacement of the image. OCT-based quantification of vitreous activity is a promising alternative to current subjective clinical estimates, with sufficient ‘tolerance’ to be used in routine clinical practice as well as clinical trials

Treatment strategies in primary vitreoretinal lymphoma: a 17-center European collaborative study.

IMPORTANCE: The best treatment option for primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL) without signs of central nervous system lymphoma (CNSL) involvement determined on magnetic resonance imaging or in cerebrospinal fluid is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes of treatment regimens used for PVRL in the prevention of subsequent CNSL. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at 17 referral ophthalmologic centers in Europe. We reviewed clinical, laboratory, and imaging data on 78 patients with PVRL who did not have CNSL on presentation between January 1, 1991, and December 31, 2012, with a focus on the incidence of CNS manifestations during the follow-up period. INTERVENTIONS: The term extensive treatment was used for various combinations of systemic and intrathecal chemotherapy, whole-brain radiotherapy, and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Therapy to prevent CNSL included ocular radiotherapy and/or ocular chemotherapy (group A, 31 patients), extensive systemic treatment (group B, 21 patients), and a combination of ocular and extensive treatment (group C, 23 patients); 3 patients did not receive treatment. A total of 40 patients received systemic chemotherapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Development of CNSL following the diagnosis of PVRL relative to the use or nonuse of systemic chemotherapy and other treatment regimens. RESULTS: Overall, CNSL developed in 28 of 78 patients (36%) at a median follow-up of 49 months. Specifically, CNSL developed in 10 of 31 (32%) in group A, 9 of 21 (43%) in group B, and 9 of 23 (39%) in group C. The 5-year cumulative survival rate was lower in patients with CNSL (35% [95% CI, 50% to 86%]) than in patients without CNSL (68% [95% CI, 19% to 51%]; P = .003) and was similar among all treatment groups (P = .10). Adverse systemic effects occurred in 9 of 40 (23%) patients receiving systemic chemotherapy; the most common of these effects was acute renal failure. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In the present series of patients with isolated PVRL, the use of systemic chemotherapy was not proven to prevent CNSL and was associated with more severe adverse effects compared with local treatment

Retinal and choroidal thickness measurements using spectral domain optical coherence tomography in anterior and intermediate uveitis.

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Autoimmune and autoinflammatory mechanisms in uveitis

The eye, as currently viewed, is neither immunologically ignorant nor sequestered from the systemic environment. The eye utilises distinct immunoregulatory mechanisms to preserve tissue and cellular function in the face of immune-mediated insult; clinically, inflammation following such an insult is termed uveitis. The intra-ocular inflammation in uveitis may be clinically obvious as a result of infection (e.g. toxoplasma, herpes), but in the main infection, if any, remains covert. We now recognise that healthy tissues including the retina have regulatory mechanisms imparted by control of myeloid cells through receptors (e.g. CD200R) and soluble inhibitory factors (e.g. alpha-MSH), regulation of the blood retinal barrier, and active immune surveillance. Once homoeostasis has been disrupted and inflammation ensues, the mechanisms to regulate inflammation, including T cell apoptosis, generation of Treg cells, and myeloid cell suppression in situ, are less successful. Why inflammation becomes persistent remains unknown, but extrapolating from animal models, possibilities include differential trafficking of T cells from the retina, residency of CD8(+) T cells, and alterations of myeloid cell phenotype and function. Translating lessons learned from animal models to humans has been helped by system biology approaches and informatics, which suggest that diseased animals and people share similar changes in T cell phenotypes and monocyte function to date. Together the data infer a possible cryptic infectious drive in uveitis that unlocks and drives persistent autoimmune responses, or promotes further innate immune responses. Thus there may be many mechanisms in common with those observed in autoinflammatory disorders