Pattern of Uveitis in an Egyptian Population with Multiple Sclerosis: A Hospital-Based Study

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence and pattern of uveitis in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). PatientsandMethods: This is a cross-sectional, observational, descriptive clinical study of patients with MS who had complete ophthalmological examination. Data collected comprised demographics of the patients and complete ocular examination findings. Exclusion criteria were history of ocular surgery, trauma or diagnosis of any other ocular pathology. Results: Seventy-five patients with a mean age of 32.64 years (ranging from 16 to 50) diagnosed with MS of the relapsing-remitting type were included in this study. There were 34 males and 41 females, a ratio of 5:6. The mean duration of the MS disease was 5.6 years. Eight eyes of 7 patients with a mean age of 20 years had intermediate uveitis, of which 5 were males. Out of the 7 patients, 5 had exacerbated MS, and 2 were in remission; 4 had relative afferent pupillary defect. In the 8 eyes with uveitis, 6 had a best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) of 1, 1 had a BSCVA of 0.5 and 1 had a BSCVA of 0.25. Conclusion: Uveitis occurs in about 10% of patients with MS affecting younger males with exacerbated disease. Most inflammations of the uveitic MS patients were in the form of intermediate uveitis that was controlled with medication with no visual threatening complications.

A systematic review of the incidence and prevalence of autoimmune disease in multiple sclerosis

“…Sixty-one studies were the subject of this review. 3 – 6 , 10 – 66 Quality scores are summarized in Supplemental Table 1 of the “Overview” manuscript. 7 Incidence and prevalence estimates for all disorders are summarized in Supplemental Tables 1–72.…”

“…Two studies reported the incidence of uveitis (Supplemental Table 24), 19 , 38 while 12 reported prevalence (Supplemental Table 25). 3 , 5 , 15 , 21 , 22 , 31 , 33 , 35 , 37 , 56 The incidence of uveitis ranged from 0–0.11%, and prevalence ranged from 0–9.33%. 3 , 5 , 15 , 21 , 22 , 31 , 33 , 35 , 37 , 56 None of these studies was population-based.…”

Gender and Uveitis in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

“…Nine of the patients (18%), 4 female and 5 male, had retinal vascular changes, either venous sheathing or focal cuffing, often with fluorescein angiographic evidence of leakage and inflammation, without overt cells. Interestingly, a similar study was performed in Egypt in which 75 patients with MS were prospectively evaluated with a full ophthalmological examination [30]. This study differs from most studies on MS in that there was not a striking female preponderance (34 males, 41 females), although it is not clear if this reflected the gender distribution of patients in this country with MS.…”

Uveitis as a prognostic factor in multiple sclerosis

“…Uveitis has been reported in several multiple sclerosis (MS) cohorts with highly varying incidences often in the form of intermediate uveitis (IU) that afflicts the vitreous and peripheral retina. [1][2][3] Likewise, 1%-14% of uveitis patients followed in ophthalmology outpatient clinics have received the diagnosis of MS. 4,5 Previous studies have failed to identify a major difference in the clinical features of MS patients with uveitis. 3,6 To investigate whether uveitis has a prognostic impact on the clinical course of MS, we compared the clinical and demographic features of MS patients with and without uveitis.…”