Acta Medica Medianae
Vol. 41
No 6, 2002
UDK 61
YU ISSN 0365-4478

 



Contact:
Jasmina Đorđević-Jocić
Ophthalmologic Clinic of the Clinic Center, Niš
 

THE ROLE OF CIRCULATING IMMUNOCOMPLEXES

IN THE SCLERITIS PATHOGENESIS

Jasmina Đorđević-Jocić and Gordana Zlatanović

Ophthalmologic Clinic of the Clinic Center, Niš
 

Scleritis is an inflammation of deep layers of the white that can have an unfavorable course. It can appear on its own or coupled with the system diseases of the connective tissue. It i.s believed that in its pathogenesis an important role is played by vasculitis of small blood vessels at whose basi.s the III type of hypersensitive reaction is laying (oversensitivity mediated by the immunocomplexes).

Three groups ofpatients were subjected to a prospective study namely the 1^st group compnsing 15 patients with scleritis of unknovvn etiology the 2^nd group comprising 15 patients who had scleritis coupled with the system diseases and the 3^rd group of 15 healthy patients. In our work we followed immunological parameters, namely, C₃ complement component and the level ofcirculating immunocomplexes -CIC in the serum; we compared them with the clinic parameters (number of recidivism and recovery time).
In the 1^st group ofpatients 26,6% of the examined had increased values of CIC; in the 2^nd group 60% of the examined had increased values of CIC while in the control group there was no person with increased CIC values. A statistically important positive correlation was found between the CIC level and the recovery time in the 1^st group, while in the 2^nd group there was a statistically important positive correlation between the CIV level and the recovery time or the number of recidivism (p<0,05).

Key words: Scleritis, recidivism, recovery time, complement, circulating immunocomplexes