PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - C. D. Heredia AU - J. Huguet AU - N. Cols AU - P. Engel AU - P. A. García-Calderón TI - Immune complexes in retinitis pigmentosa. AID - 10.1136/bjo.68.11.811 DP - 1984 Nov 01 TA - British Journal of Ophthalmology PG - 811--814 VI - 68 IP - 11 4099 - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/68/11/811.short 4100 - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/68/11/811.full SO - Br J Ophthalmol1984 Nov 01; 68 AB - In a group of 46 patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) we studied the presence of circulating immune complexes (CIC) and the alterations in the complement system. Our results showed the presence of CIC in 43.5% of the patients studied, reduced levels of the complement components C3 and C4 (p less than 0.001), and of the haemolytic activity CH50 (p less than 0.001) when compared with a control group consisting of a 100 healthy subjects. We found a statistically significant correlation between the values of C3 and CIC (p less than 0.01), C4 and CIC (p less than 0.01), and between CH50 and CIC (p less than 0.001). These findings indicate that the CIC may play a role in the pathogenesis of primary retinitis pigmentosa.