HLA B27 as predisposition factor to suffer age related macular degeneration.

To research whether specific alleles HLA class I (HLA-A and HLA-B) and class II (HLA-DR) are risk factors for the development of exudative type of Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), HLA antigens are expressed both in normal and affected eyes with ARMD. We designed a prospective case-controlled study. We recruited 75 patients with choroidal neovascularization predominantly classic or occult, secondary to ARMD, and treated with photodynamic therapy.

Scedosporium apiospermum keratitis.

A case of Scedosporium apiospermum keratitis is reported in a 65-year-old farmer referred for treatment of an extensive corneal ulcer in the left eye. Direct examination of scrapes revealed abundant filamentous septate hyphae; all cultures were consistently positive for the same fungus, identified later as Scedosporium apiospermum. The patient successfully responded to treatment with amphotericin B.

Tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels in aqueous humour and serum from patients with uveitis: the involvement of HLA-B27.

Objective: To study the local and systemic levels of the tumour necrosis factor-alpha in patients with active uveitis and to determine the implication of TNF-alpha in rheumatological uveitis and to observe if this relationship is more significant in the B27 positive patients.

Patients And Methods: Patients were selected on the basis of a diagnosis of uveitis of any aetiology. Data from 23 patients were stratified into two categories according to the presence or absence of systemic rheumatic disease.

ICAM-1 expression on the surface of T lymphocytes in patients with uveitis: a comparative study between the eye and peripheral blood.

Purpose: We studied the surface expression of intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) on peripheral and intra-ocular T lymphocytes in patients with active uveitis.

Methods: Two-colour flow-cytometric analysis was performed on cells isolated from aqueous humour and peripheral blood of 23 patients with active uveitis and 16 control patients who were to undergo cataract extraction, in order to determine the percentage of cells expressing CD4, CD8 and ICAM-1 (CD54) molecules.

Results: In the aqueous humour of patients with uveitis, we found an increase in the percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes, co-expressing the ICAM-1 molecule as compared to control patients (p < 0.