Abstract
Purpose: :
To compare the impact of soluble interleukin 2 receptor (sIL2R), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), and neopterin as a screening and activity parameter in ocular sarcoidosis.
Methods: :
Serum concentrations of sIL2R, ACE, and neopterin were measured in patients with uveitis using ELISA technique. Ocular sarcoidosis was diagnosed using criteria of the International Ocular Sarcoidosis Study Group. Uveitis activity was scored according to the uveitis activity score proposed by BenEzra. The data were analyzed by a multifactorial linear model (ANOVA) and by contingency tables.
Results: :
We screened 600 patients with uveitis for sarcoidosis using sIL2R, ACE, and neopterin between January 2008 and November 2011, and identified forty patients with ocular sarcoidosis. In screening for ocular sarcoidosis, sIL2R combined high sensitivity (100%) with high specificity (97%), while ACE and neopterin showed a higher specificity (99%//99%), but just moderate sensitivity (18%//67%). Soluble IL2R values correlated with uveitis activity (p=0.01) when being monitored, while ACE und neopterin values did not.
Conclusions: :
Soluble IL2R is both a useful screening parameter and monitoring parameter for disease activity in ocular sarcoidosis. In contrast, ACE and neopterin fail as monitoring parameters, and are only moderate screening parameters.
Keywords: uveitis-clinical/animal model • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • cytokines/chemokines