QUANTIFICATION OF BLOOD-OCULAR BARRIERS JUNCTION USING FLUOROPHOTOMETRY IN INTERMEDIATE UVEITIS

Purpose Intermediate uveitis presents a characteristic clinical pictur e with inflammation in the vitreous and peripheral retina. From a phys iological point of view, the disease is characterised by a rupture of blood-ocular barriers. To determine the sites involved, a vitreous flu orophotometry was performed in patients with intermediate uveitis and in a group of healthy patients. Methods Seventy-one patients with an i ntermediate uveitis were studied by vitreous fluorophotometry. Anterio r chamber and posterior segment fluorophotometric findings were measur ed 5 and 60 minutes after injection of fluorescein. Results were compa red to a group of healthy patients. Results Vitreous fluorophotometry demonstrated abnormal leakage of fluorescein in all vitreous sectors o f the patients suffering from uveitis compared with the control group (p < 0.001). In the anterior chamber, leakage of fluorescein was not s ignificantly different between the two groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion R esults obtained suggest that intermediate uveitis involves a generaliz ed permeability disturbance of the posterior segment secondary to a di ffuse vasculitis. However, in the anterior segment this disturbance is not found.