Descemet’s scroll in syphilitic interstitial keratitis: a case report with anterior segment evaluation and a literature review

Ngamjit Kasetsuwan,1,2 Usanee Reinprayoon,1,2 Patchima Chantaren2 1Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, 2Ophthalmology Department, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand Purpose: To present a case of syphilitic interstitial keratitis with Descemet’s scrolls, as well as its characteristic findings in an anterior segment investigation in relation to the histopathologic findings from a literature review. Case presentation: A case report of a 64-year-old woman with syphilitic infection presented with band keratopathy and retrocorneal scrolls. Slit-lamp photography, confocal microscopy, anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), and ultrasound biomicroscopy were performed. Four previous reports were reviewed to describe the pathogenesis, natural history, and histopathologic and immunohistologic findings of the Descemet’s scroll. Results: The spectacle-corrected visual acuity was 20/50 and 20/30 in the right and left eyes, respectively. The scrolls appeared as a translucent web extending from Descemet’s membrane into the anterior chamber. Confocal microscopy showed decreased endothelial cell density, pleomorphism, polymegathism, and hyperreflective fibrocellular rods with central hollow. The AS-OCT and ultrasound biomicroscopy showed rod-shaped retrocorneal scrolls. The corneal thickness was 494 microns, as measured by AS-OCT. The corneal lesion remained stable during the 6-year follow-up period without the need for keratoplasty, while the previous literature reported spontaneous and postoperative corneal decompensation. Conclusion: We present a case of syphilitic interstitial keratitis with rare Descemet’s scrolls featuring relatively good visual acuity. Although we did not obtain the corneal tissue for examination, the anterior segment investigation provides insight into the underlying histopathology and natural disease history. The central hollow and cellular component seen during confocal microscopy might correspond to the amorphous core and the abnormal endothelial cells in the histopathologic findings. Failure to detect the corneal endothelium due to stromal opacity in these cases is possible, however, compromised endothelium may present. Keywords: confocal microscopy, Descemet’s membrane, endothelium, retrocorneal membrane, retrocorneal scroll

Major single nucleotide polymorphisms in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: a comparative analysis between Thai and other Asian populations

Patchima Chantaren1, Paisan Ruamviboonsuk1, Mathurose Ponglikitmongkol2, Montip Tiensuwan3, Somying Promso41Department of Ophthalmology, Rajavithi Hospital, Bangkok, 2Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 3Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 4Virology and Molecular Microbiology Unit, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, ThailandPurpose: To investigate the association in a Thai population between the major age-related macular degeneration (AMD) susceptibility loci, Y402H and I62V in the complement factor H (CFH) and A69S in the age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) genes, and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).Methods: A case-control study included 97 PCV cases and 102 age- and gender-matched controls without any retinopathy. The genotypic profiles of the three polymorphisms were obtained using a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. The allelic and genotypic association between the polymorphisms and PCV were compared with those from the compiled data of other Asian populations reported previously.Results: Strong associations between the Y402H, I62V, and A69S polymorphisms and PCV were observed in the present study (P = 0.002, 0.003, and 0.0008 respectively) and in the compiled data (P < 0.0001 for all three polymorphisms). The risk allele frequencies of the polymorphisms in PCVs and in controls from the present study (15.0% and 5.4% for Y402H, 71.7% and 57.4% for I62V, and 54.1% and 37.3% for A69S respectively) were also comparable with the frequencies from the compiled data (10.3% and 6.4% for Y402H, 75.2% and 58.3% for I62V, and 56.8% and 36.8% for A69S respectively). The genotype distribution for each polymorphism was also comparable in both datasets.Conclusion: The findings of this study support a significant genetic association between the major AMD susceptibility genes and PCV across Asian populations. This suggests that AMD and PCV, despite different phenotypic manifestation, may share common genetic risk factors.Keywords: genetic, association, PCV, age-related macular degeneration, CFH gene, ARMS2 gen

Major single nucleotide polymorphisms in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: a comparative analysis between Thai and other Asian populations

Patchima Chantaren1, Paisan Ruamviboonsuk1, Mathurose Ponglikitmongkol2, Montip Tiensuwan3, Somying Promso41Department of Ophthalmology, Rajavithi Hospital, Bangkok, 2Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 3Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 4Virology and Molecular Microbiology Unit, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, ThailandPurpose: To investigate the association in a Thai population between the major age-related macular degeneration (AMD) susceptibility loci, Y402H and I62V in the complement factor H (CFH) and A69S in the age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) genes, and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).Methods: A case-control study included 97 PCV cases and 102 age- and gender-matched controls without any retinopathy. The genotypic profiles of the three polymorphisms were obtained using a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. The allelic and genotypic association between the polymorphisms and PCV were compared with those from the compiled data of other Asian populations reported previously.Results: Strong associations between the Y402H, I62V, and A69S polymorphisms and PCV were observed in the present study (P = 0.002, 0.003, and 0.0008 respectively) and in the compiled data (P < 0.0001 for all three polymorphisms). The risk allele frequencies of the polymorphisms in PCVs and in controls from the present study (15.0% and 5.4% for Y402H, 71.7% and 57.4% for I62V, and 54.1% and 37.3% for A69S respectively) were also comparable with the frequencies from the compiled data (10.3% and 6.4% for Y402H, 75.2% and 58.3% for I62V, and 56.8% and 36.8% for A69S respectively). The genotype distribution for each polymorphism was also comparable in both datasets.Conclusion: The findings of this study support a significant genetic association between the major AMD susceptibility genes and PCV across Asian populations. This suggests that AMD and PCV, despite different phenotypic manifestation, may share common genetic risk factors.Keywords: genetic, association, PCV, age-related macular degeneration, CFH gene, ARMS2 gen