SOLUBLE INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-1 (SICAM-1) AS A MARKER OF DISEASE RELAPSE IN IDIOPATHIC UVEORETINITIS

This study reports the results of a point prevalence study of markers of endothelial dysfunction in the serum of patients with idiopathic uv eoretinitis. sICAM-1, soluble endothelial leucocyte adhesion molecule (sELAM), anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECA) and von Willebrand fa ctor (vWF) levels were measured in 32 patients with isolated idiopathi c uveoretinitis and seven with uveitis in association with systemic di sease, using commercial and in-house ELISAs. Raised levels of AECA wer e found in 31% of patients with isolated uveitis, vWF in 28%, sELAM in 15.6% and sICAM-1 in 31%. Further analysis revealed that raised sICAM -1 levels were closely associated with recent relapse of disease (P = 0.00003). Patients with accompanying systemic disease were found to ha ve a similar prevalence of these serum abnormalities to those with iso lated ocular disease. In conclusion, vascular endothelial dysfunction may contribute to pathogenesis in uveoretinitis, and in particular sIC AM-1 may prove a marker of disease relapse in this condition.