title: Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome in patients with Cherokee Indian ancestry.
abstract: Eight patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome who have Cherokee Indian ancestry ranged from 17 to 49 years of age. Five of the patients were black, three were white. Visual acuity at the time of initial examination ranged from 20/20 to counting fingers. Clinical findings included granulomatous iridocyclitis in six patients, vitreitis in seven patients, disk edema in five patients, exudative retinal detachment in six patients, and multifocal choroidal lesions in all eight patients. All of the patients were treated with systemic corticosteroids, and they recovered visual acuity of 20/40 or better. The seven patients assayed had the HLA-DRw52 haplotype, including five who were homozygous for this allele. This finding may add to the increasing evidence that a class II HLA antigen at a D-related locus may predispose carriers to the development of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sternberg
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Aaberg
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capone
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Mandell
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Newman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006239:Haplotypes; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014607:Uveomeningoencephalitic Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D011239:Prednisolone