SERUM ANTIOCULAR ANTIBODIES IN PATIENTS WITH JUVENILE RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

Although the uveitis associated with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JR A) is presumed to have an autoimmune etiology, its pathogenesis is unk nown. We utilized immunohistochemical techniques to detect the presenc e of serum antibodies directed against ocular tissues in these patient s. The staining patterns of serum from patients with JRA, with and wit hout uveitis, were compared with normal controls. Antibodies directed against epitopes in iris and ciliary body basement membranes, lens epi thelium and fibers, Bruch's membrane, and iris and retinal blood vesse ls were observed in the sera of several individuals. These staining pa tterns were statistically more frequent among the pauciarticular and p olyarticular JRA patients, with and without uveitis, than either the s ystemic JRA or normal populations. These results demonstrate the prese nce of antiocular antibodies in the sera of JRA patients, with and wit hout uveitis. Whether those nonuveitic JRA patients with antiocular an tibodies will develop uveitis is unknown at this time.