Alpha 1-antitrypsin and acute anterior uveitis

To test the pathogenetic role of the phenotype MZ of alpha 1-antitrypsin/alpha 1-protease inhibitor (PI) in acute anterior uveitis (AAU), 156 patients with AAU were examined. Sera of all patients and 120 healthy controls were PI-typed using isoelectric focusing. There were no significant differences in PI MZ frequencies either between the patients with AAU (4.5%) and the controls (4.2%), or between AAU patients with associated rheumatic diseases (4.8%) and AAU patients with no associated disease (4.3%). The results indicate that the PI MZ type is not closely associated with AAU among Finns.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme in uveitis and sarcoidosis

Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (SACE) was studied in a group of 29 sarcoidosis patients (among whom five had uveitis) and in 22 patients with non-sarcoid uveitis. SACE was normal in all non-sarcoid patients and elevated in 62 per cent of the patients with sarcoidosis. Thus an elevated SACE is closely linked to sarcoidosis and may be a valuable tool in evaluating patients with uveitis in search of a sarcoid origin.

Limited gallium scans and angiotensin converting enzyme in granulomatous uveitis

The use of serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and limited gallium scans of the head, neck, and chest for patients with granulomatous uveitis is described. Mean serum ACE activity was elevated in patients with granulomatous uveitis regardless of the presence of systemic sarcoidosis. Furthermore, pathologic gallium uptake was noted in lacrimal glands, parotid glands, and lungs in some cases. These results indicate that sarcoidosis may be more common than previously believed in these patients.

Uveitis associated with sarcoidosis and angiotensin converting enzyme

We evaluated serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity in three groups of patients as follows: 20 patients with systemic sarcoidosis and ophthalmic manifestations of the disease (Group 1); 27 patients with granulomatous uveitis and no evidence of systemic sarcoidosis (Group 2); and 17 patients with well-defined uveitis syndromes, both granulomatous and nongranulomatous (Group 3). Serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity in control subjects was 22.0 +/- 0.7 nanomol/min/ml (mean +/- S.E.). Compared to control subjects, serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity was significantly increased in Groups 1 and 2 for patients not using corticosteroids (57.9 +/- 7.4 and 41.5 +/- 4.4 nanomal/min/ml, respectively) as well as those using corticosteroids (40.3 +/- 5.1 and 35.6 +/- 4.8 nanomal/min/ml). Enzyme activity was not significantly different from controls for Group 3. Our study shows that the increase of serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity in some patients with granulomatous uveitis is strong evidence of sarcoid uveitis even in the absence of clinicoradiographic or histologic findings of systemic sarcoidosis.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme in sarcoid uveitis

The diagnosis of ocular sarcoid is presumptive in the absence of systemic disease. The association of elevated serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) levels with active systemic sarcoid has been well described. With a sensitive fluorimetric assay for ACE, we found that five of ten chronic granulomatous uveitis patients without systemic sarcoid had elevated serum ACE levels. None of ten patients with uveitis of known etiology had elevated serum ACE levels. We believe that the association of an elevated serum ACE level with chronic granulomatous uveitis suggests the diagnosis of ocular sarcoid.

[The role of lysosomal enzymes in adjuvant-induced uveitis in rabbits (author's transl)]

Acid phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase were used as marker enzymes of lysosome, and their role in adjuvant-induced uveitis was studied. These enzyme activities in the iris-ciliary processes were increased in the inflamed tissues. Changes in these enzyme activities in the tissues paralleled the development of uveitis. While protein concentration in the aqueous humor as a parameter of vascular permeability was significantly correlated with these enzyme activities, there was no correlation in the leucocyte counts in the aqueous humor. Topically applied dexamethasone reduced the increase in the aqueous protein, the leucocyte migration and the swelling of the iris-ciliary processes, while topically applied indomethacin reduced only the leucocyte migration among these inflammatory parameters. Acid phosphatase activities in the inflamed tissues were reduced also by dexamethasone, but not by indomethacin.

Uveitis associated with sarcoidosis and angiotensin converting enzyme

Sarcoid uveitis is usually a presumptive diagnosis based on the simultaneous presence of uveitis and clinicoradiographic or histologic findings of sarcoidosis. The elevation of serum ACE in some patients with granulomatous uveitis is strongly presumptive of sarcoid uveitis even in the absence of these findings. Serum ACE may prove to be a useful indicator of ocular sarcoid in the absence of otherwise undetectable systemic disease.

Intraocular lysozyme in experimental uveitis in rabbits: aqueous and vitreous assay

We determined normal aqueous and vitreous lysozyme levels in rabbit eyes and induced experimental uveitis to record the uppermost aqueous and vitreous lysozyme levels. The normal aqueous humor of the rabbit eye contained 1.05 mug per milliliter lysozyme and the normal vitreous humor contained 0.45 mug per milliliter. After the intravitreal administration of a foreign protein, the aqueous and vitreous lysozyme levels rose within one day, reaching maximum values of 38.4 mug per milliliter and 114 mug per milliliter, respectively, at 14 days, and subsequently declining to minimal values by 28 days after injection.

Aqueous and serum lysozyme values in experimental uveitis in rabbits

The purpose of this study was to determine what happens to normal aqueous lysozyme levels during experimentally induced uveitis. Horse-serum-induced uveitis increased the average rabbit aqueous lysozyme value (0.9 mug per milliliter) to 13.8 mug per milliliter, but did not elevate the average serum lysozyme value (4.0 mug per milliliter). These findings suggest that ocular inflammation alone is not sufficient to elevate the serum lysozyme level.