Basic and clinical studies on HTLV-I uveitis

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This study was aimed at determining the association of human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-I) infection with certain type of uveitis that was classified as idiopathic on the basis of conventional diagnostic criteria. The seroprevalence of HTLV-I in idiopathic uveitis was significantly higher than that in two control groups, i. e. uveitis with defined etiology and non-uveitic ocular diseases. The odds ratio of idiopathic uveitis for HTLV-I infection was estimated to be 11.0 at younger aged group (20-49 years old), while being 2.0 at older aged group (50<) in an HTLV-I endemic area. A similar observation was recorded even in an HTLV-I less endemic area. Clinical features of the patients were characterized by intermediate uveitis consisting of moderate vitreous opacities, mild iritis and retinal vasculitis. Proviral DNA of HTLV-I was detected from inflammatory cells of the anterior chamber in all tested patients by polymerase chain reaction, suggesting the presence of HTLV-I infected cells in uveitic eyes.