[Measurement of retinal circulation in uveitis of Behçet's and Harada's disease]

Abstract

In order to investigate retinal circulation in patients with Behçet's disease and Harada's disease, we divided 27 patients into three groups; Behçet's group (8 patients), Harada's group (8 patients) and the control group (11 normal subjects). By means of video-densitometric image analysis of fluorescein angiography, we measured the buildup time (BT), time constant of washout rate (TC) and mean circulation time (MCT) for both the retinal artery and vein. The results were as follows: 1) The BT in Behçet group was slightly prolonged compared to that in the control group, while the BT in Harada's disease was shorter than that in the control group. 2) The TC in both the Behçet's and Harada's groups was significantly prolonged compared to that in the control group. 3) The MCT in both Behçet's and Harada's groups was not significantly different from that in the control group. These results suggest that Behçet's disease cases may have normally and compensatory retinal circulation, whatever vasculitis occurs on retinal vessels. On the other hand, choroiditis in Harada's disease has no influence on retinal circulation.