Production of specific retinal S antigen antibodies in patients with retinal detachment.

One hundred patients with retinal detachment (61 primary operations and 39 reoperations) were studied for titers of autoantibodies to human retinal S antigen using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique (ELISA). There was no statistically significant difference when comparing the group of patients with primary retinal detachment with the control group. However, a statistically significant increase in anti-S titers was recorded when a comparison was made between the group of reoperated patients and the control group (chi 2, P less than 0.001) and between the group of reoperated subjects and the group of patients operated on for the first time (chi 2, P less than 0.005).