CTLA-4 polymorphisms are not associated with ocular inflammatory disease.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is regarded with other molecules such as HLA, PTPN22 and CARD15 as genetic master switches of autoimmunity. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes encoding these molecules have been associated with autoimmune conditions. We analysed the SNPs -318C/T and 49A/G in CTLA-4 in patients with Behcet's disease (BD), patients with intermediate uveitis and appropriate controls.

The association of the PTPN22 620W polymorphism with Behcet's disease.

Objectives: A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the gene encoding protein tyrosine phosphatase type 22 (PTPN22 620W) has recently been described as a strong common genetic risk factor for human autoimmune disease. We have analysed the association of PTPN22 620W in patients with Behçet's disease (BD).

Methods: Genomic DNA was obtained from 270 patients with BD from the UK and the Middle East.

IL-10 genotype analysis in patients with Behçet's disease.

Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent orogenital ulceration, ocular inflammation, and skin lesions. The etiology of the disease is currently unknown but evidence suggests that there is a strong genetic component mediating the chronicity of the disorder. We have examined the association between polymorphisms at position -1082, and -819 in the promoter region of the gene encoding IL-10 in patients with Behçet's disease from two distinct patient populations.

CARD15 polymorphisms in Behçet's disease.

Background: Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic multi-system inflammatory disorder of unknown aetiology, which shares many features of the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). CARD15 has recently been identified as the first susceptibility gene in Crohn's disease (CD).

Objective: Given certain clinical and pathological similarities between CD and BD, and recent evidence of linkage of BD to the CARD15 genomic region, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of CARD15 variants in determining susceptibility to BD.

Analysis of the CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) Delta32 polymorphism in Behçet's disease.

Chemokines are important determinants of the early inflammatory response. The CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) Delta32 variant results in a non-functional form of the chemokine receptor, and has been implicated in a variety of immune-mediated diseases. To investigate its role in the pathogenesis of Behçet's disease, we studied 350 patients and 519 healthy controls from three ethnic groups.

Telemedicine in the service of peace.

Ophthalmology is well suited to telemedicine, since optical and imaging devices provide the basis for virtually all ophthalmic patient evaluations. We established the Middle East Ophthalmology Network among ophthalmologists working in 10 major ophthalmology centres in Israel, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Tunisia. The project offered some 50 physicians around the Middle East the opportunity to benefit from sharing clinical consultation for diagnosis and management decisions beyond physical and political boundaries.

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 gene polymorphisms in Behçet's disease.

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) gene polymorphisms have been implicated in the susceptibility to inflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease. The expression of both soluble and tissue ICAM-1 is increased in Behçet's disease (BD) but the contribution of ICAM-1 gene polymorphisms to this disease remains unknown. Associations with BD have been reported for genes within the MHC, including HLA-B51, TNF and MICA, but the role of non-MHC genes in BD remains largely unexplored.

HLA and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) polymorphisms in ocular Behçet's disease.

The role of HLA-B*51 and other major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in Behçet's disease (BD) remains unknown. We have performed HLA and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) polymorphism analysis in BD and evaluated their contribution to ocular disease. In this study, 102 patients and 115 controls of Middle Eastern descent were investigated by HLA and B*51 subtyping using novel primers, and by LT alpha NCo 1 and TNF 308 promoter polymorphism analysis.

Factor V Leiden mutation is associated with ocular involvement in Behçet disease.

Purpose: Behçet disease is a systemic disease of young adults characterized by venous occlusion in both the deep venous and retinal circulations. In severe ocular disease, blindness may occur despite immunosuppressive treatment. The most common inherited risk factor for the development of idiopathic venous thrombosis is the presence of the Factor V (FV Leiden) mutation, which confers resistance to activated protein C.

MIC-A allele profiles and HLA class I associations in Behçet's disease.

Recently a new family of non-classical MHC molecules, the MHC class I chain-related protein (MIC), encoded by genes located in the major histocompatability complex have been identified. On the basis of the location of MIC genes and the structure and expression of MIC molecules it has been postulated that MIC may be a susceptibility factor in Behçet's disease (BD). We investigated the association of the 16 described external domain alleles and the transmembrane triplet repeats of MIC-A with BD in a Middle Eastern population.

Soluble adhesion molecules in Behçet's disease.

Background: Behçet's disease (BD) may lead to blindness in up to 25% of eyes. Soluble (s)ICAM-1 but not sVCAM-1 is associated with relapse in idiopathic uveoretinitis and is reported to be raised in BD patients. We have investigated the levels of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in Palestinian patients with BD and related them to both ocular and systemic disease activity and to immunosuppressive treatment.

'En bloc' dissection of epimacular membranes using aspiration delamination.

'En bloc' dissection is a technique in which epiretinal membranes (ERM) are separated from the retina as a single lamina with a 20-gauge blunt flute needle. We used this technique to remove epimacular membranes of various aetiologies in a consecutive series of 25 eyes, with a minimum follow-up of 5 months (mean 10.4 months).

Intraocular lens implantation in children in the West Bank and Gaza.

In order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in paediatric aphakia, we reviewed the records of a consecutive series of 40 children, under 15 years of age, who had IOLs inserted for congenital and developmental cataracts between September 1990 and December 1992. Visual results and lens-induced complications were evaluated in 67 eyes with a mean follow-up of 27 months (range 12-38 months). In 52 eyes the cataract was removed by limbal lens aspiration and in 15 eyes by pars plicata lens aspiration.

Platelet cytosolic free calcium concentration in primary hypertension.

Cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) concentrations were measured in platelets from hypertensive and normotensive man and rat with the fluorescent indicator Quin-2/AM, taking into account the signal of the free chelator. In the absence of added external Ca2+, no difference in [Ca2+]i was observed between platelets of hypertensive patients and those of normotensive subjects or between platelets of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR; Okamoto-Aoki strain) and those of normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. In the presence of 0.