RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Soluble ICAM-1 serum levels in patients with intermediate uveitis
JF British Journal of Ophthalmology
JO Br J Ophthalmol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
SP 847
OP 851
DO 10.1136/bjo.83.7.847
VO 83
IS 7
A1 Anne-Marie Klok
A1 Leny Luyendijk
A1 Michel J W Zaal
A1 Aniki Rothova
A1 Aize Kijlstra
YR 1999
UL http://bjo.bmj.com/content/83/7/847.abstract
AB 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.