The Association Of Fuchs' Uveitis Syndrome With Behcet'S Diseas

The characteristic clinical features of Fuchs' uveitis syndrome are: diffusely distributed stellate keratic precipitates, atrophy of the anterior layer of iris, especially in the peripupillar region (heterochromia), the absence of posterior synechiae, development of posterior subcapsular cataract, Amsler sign. In relevant publications the syndrome was described in association with ocular toxoplasmosis, sarcoidosis, retinitis pigmentosa. The cases of recurrent subconjunctival hemorrhages and iris crystals (Russell bodies, i.e., immunoglobulin accumulation within plasma cells) in patients with Fuchs' uveitis syndrome were also reported.Among 44 patients with Fuchs' uveitis syndrome examined at Uveitis Department of the Ophthalmological Center after S. V. Malayan, one patient had atypical clinical presentation, which was associated with Behcet's disease. This association, to our knowledge, has never been described.In cases of association with ocular toxoplasmosis, according to H. Saraux and associates (1985), Fuchs' uveitis syndrome represents an autoimmune reaction targeted towards the retina affected by Toxoplasma gondii. We assume that the reason of Fuchs' uveitis syndrome association with Behcet's disease relies on a certain type of immune responses. Further investigations, including genetic studies, are needed to explain this association in view of the high prevalence of Fuchs' uveitis syndrome in Armenians.