Autoimmunity in hereditary retinal degenerations. II. Clinical studies: antiretinal antibodies and fluorescein angiogram findings.

Testing by indirect immunofluorescence for the detection of antiretinal antibodies and lymphocyte stimulation for cell-mediated immunity to retinal antigens was performed on blood obtained from 59 patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and 29 without RP who had other types of retinal disease. The results from the patients' immunological studies were correlated in a masked fashion with six parameters of the fluorescein angiogram: disc staining, peripapillary oedema, vascular arcade oedema, macular oedema, and focal vascular staining (late phases), and disc telangiectasia (early phases). Significant correlations for both groups together were found for IgG antiretinal antibody reactivity and macular oedema (p less than 0.038) and disc staining (p less than 0.033). The non-RP retinal disease group had more significant correlations, including IgG antiretinal antibody reactivity with vascular arcade oedema (p less than 0.018), disc staining (p less than 0.018), and peripapillary oedema (p less than 0.023); the RP patients had significant correlation with IgG reactivity and arcade oedema (p less than 0.045). With combinations of IgG, IgM, and lymphocyte reactivity various significant correlations were found with the fluorescein angiogram.