Infectious involvement in a tertiary center pediatric uveitis cohort

Background/aims Studies of uveitis in children have focused primarily on non-infectious causes. To date, no systematic study of infectious uveitis in children has been conducted. We investigate the prevalence of infectious causes of uveitis in children and explore the diagnostic value of analysing aqueous humour. Methods Retrospective cohort study in a tertiary referral centre for paediatric uveitis. Medical records of 345 children with uveitis presenting from 1995 through 2010 were reviewed for infectious causes (by serology and aqueous humour analysis). Results A diagnosis of infectious uveitis was established in 60/345 (17%) children. The most prevalent pathogen was Toxoplasma gondii (36/60; 60%), followed by viral infections (18/60; 30%). The most prevalent viral pathogen was varicella-zoster virus (VZV), representing 7/18 (39%) children. Viral causes were less often bilateral than other infectious causes (p=0.04). Specific IgG serum levels determined in 42/60 (70%) patients, were positive in 41/42 (98%). Aqueous humour was analysed for 24/60 (40%) patients and was positive in 18/24 (75%). Conclusions An infectious cause of uveitis was identified in 17% of children with uveitis. T gondii and VZV were the most prevalent pathogens. We recommend analysing the aqueous humour of every child with vision-threatening uveitis of undetermined origin

Polymerase chain reaction in unilateral cases of presumed viral anterior uveitis

Samir S Shoughy,1 Hind M Alkatan,2,4 Abdulelah A Al-Abdullah,2 Albarah El-Khani,2 Jolanda DF de Groot-Mijnes,3 Khalid F Tabbara1,4,5 1Department of Ophthalmology, The Eye Center and The Eye Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology, 2Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Uveitis Division, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Virology and Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 4Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 5The Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA Background and objectives: Anterior uveitis is the most common form of intraocular inflammation. The main aim of this study was to determine the viral etiology in patients with unilateral cases of anterior uveitis.Patients and methods: A total of 12 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of idiopathic unilateral anterior uveitis were included prospectively. Aqueous specimens were obtained from each patient by anterior chamber paracentesis and subjected to the detection of viral DNA/RNA genome by polymerase chain reaction assay for herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein–Barr virus, and rubella virus.Results: There were six male and six female patients. The mean age was 43 years, with an age range of 11–82 years. All 12 cases presented with unilateral anterior uveitis. In four (33%) patients, polymerase chain reaction was positive for viral genome. Two patients were positive for herpes simplex virus type 1, one patient was positive for cytomegalovirus and one for Epstein–Barr virus.Conclusion: Recent molecular diagnostic assays would help in the identification of the causative agent in patients with unilateral anterior uveitis. Keywords: viral anterior uveitis, PCR, herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, diffuse keratic precipitates, anterior chamber paracentesi

Pathogenesis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis associated uveitis: the known and unknown

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common childhood rheumatic disease and the most prevalent systemic disorder in children with uveitis. The current prevailing opinion is that JIA is a multifactorial, genetically predisposed autoimmune disorder that can be influenced by environmental factors and infections; the specific pathogenesis of JIA-associated uveitis is not understood, however, nor has the relationship between the eye and joint inflammation been established. Nevertheless, subtypes of JIA that are associated with uveitis, oligoarthritis, polyarticular rheumatoid factor negative, and psoriatic arthritis appear to have common pathogenicity. We summarize our current knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of JIA-associated uveitis and discuss the possible role of immune responses and cytokine involvement, genetic associations, and the influence of external triggers in this disease-an association that is supported by data obtained from arthritis research and experimental uveitis models. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Cytokines and Chemokines Involved in Acute Retinal Necrosis

Purpose: To investigate which cytokines and chemokines are involved in the immunopathogenesis of acute retinal necrosis (ARN), and whether cytokine profiles are associated with clinical manifestations, such as visual outcome. Methods: Serum and aqueous humor (AH) samples of 19 patients with ARN were analyzed by multiplex immunoassay. Infectious controls consisted of 18 patients with rubella virus-associated Fuchs' uveitis and 20 patients with ocular toxoplasmosis all confirmed by intraocular fluid analyses. The control group consisted of seven paired AH and serum samples from seven noninflammatory control patients with age-related cataract. In each sample, 4 anti-inflammatory, 12 proinflammatory, 2 vascular, and 4 other immune mediators were measured. In addition, various clinical characteristics were assessed. Results: In ARN, 10 of the 22 mediators, including most proinflammatory and vascular mediators such as IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, MIF, MCP-1, Eotaxin, IP-10, IL-15, sICAM-1, and sVCAM-1, were significantly elevated when compared to all controls. In addition, one anti-inflammatory mediator (IL-10) was significantly elevated in ARN as compared to the controls. No association was found between the time of sampling and the extent and levels of immune mediator expression. Conclusions: The pathogenesis of ARN is characterized by the presence of predominantly proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines with high expression levels as compared to other infectious causes of uveitis. There are no indications for an obvious Th-1 or Th-17 pathway. The combined data suggest that immune mediator expression is related to severity of disease, which is more fulminant in ARN, rather than to a specific uveitis entity

Intraocular Biomarker Identification in Uveitis Associated With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

PURPOSE. To investigate the presence of biomarkers in aqueous humor (AH) from patients with uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). METHODS. AH (n = 73) and serum (n = 105) samples from 116 children were analyzed using surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-ToF MS). The samples were divided into the following groups: JIA, silent chronic anterior uveitis (AU), other uveitis entities, and noninflammatory controls. Statistical biomarker identification was performed using the SELDI-ToF Biomarker Analysis Cluster Wizard followed by multivariate statistical analysis. Biochemical identi RESULTS. In the JIA group, one AH protein peak at mass/charge (m/z) 13,762 had qualitative and quantitative differences in expression compared with the other uveitis entities and the controls, but not to the group of silent chronic AU. Its quantitative expression in AH of patients with JIA and other silent chronic AU was positively associated with uveitis activity. The protein at m/z 13,762 in AH was identified as transthyretin (TTR). The TTR concentration in AH differed significantly between th CONCLUSIONS. TTR is a potential intraocular biomarker of JIA-associated uveitis. Its role in the pathogenesis of silent chronic AU with and without arthritis needs further investigation