[Retinal vascular lesions in systemic lupus erythematosus and secondary antiphospholipid syndrome]

The study was undertaken to determine a possible association of retinal vascular lesion in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). A hundred and ninety-four patients (160 females and 34 males, whose mean age was 30.7+/-8.9 years) with verified SLE were examined. Group I comprised 67 patients with retinal vascular lesions (Subgroup la (n = 13) with retinal vascular occlusions and Subgroup 1b (n = 54) without occlusions). Group 2 included 127 patients without retinal vascular lesions. APS was detected in 86 patients. Retinal vascular occlusions more frequently occurred in patients with APS (13.9%) than in those without APS (0.9%) (p = 0.0009) and more frequently in patients with APS and thrombocytopenia (24.3%) than in those with APS without thrombocytopenia (6.1%) (p = 0.0359). Extraocular thromboses were more frequently encountered in Subgroup 1a (69.2%) than in Subgroup 1b (33.3%) (p = 0.0399) and in Group 2 (22.8%), (p = 0.0010). Cerebral circulatory disorder (CCD) was observed in 30.7% in Subgroup la, in 14.8% in Subgroup 1b, and in 7.9% in Group 2 (p = 0.0268). Transient ischemic attack (TIA) occurred in 46.2% in Subgroup la, in 24.1% in Subgroup 2a, and in 14.9% in Group 2 (p = 0.0129). Thrombocytopenia was identified in 69.2% in Subgroup 1a, in 22.2% in Subgroup 2a (p = 0.0021), and in 12.6% in Group 2 (p < 0.0000). The frequency of elevated IgG of anticadiolipin (aCL) in Subgroup 1a (80%) exceeded that in Subgroup 1b (37.9%) (p = 0.0309) and Group 2 (30.7%) (p = 0.0096). Another isotype of aCL (IgM 80%) was observed in patients with retinal vascular occlusions, but the differences in this index were insignificant in the groups and subgroups. The association of pathological changes in retinal vessels in the presence of lupus anticoagulant (LA) was particularly noticeable (91.7 and 52% in Subgroup la and Subgroup 1b, respectively (p = 0.0191) and 47.1% in Group 2 (p = 0.0088). There was an association of amaurosis fugax with eyeground occlusions (p < 0.004), CCD and TIA (p < 0.0002), APS (p < 0.0003), and essential hypertension (p < 0.05). Thus, occlusive lesions in the fundus of the eye are a common manifestation of thrombogenesis in SLE in the presence of APS. The frequency of concomitance of retinal vascular occlusions with cerebral circulatory disorders should be referred to as severe manifestations of SLE. Amaurosis fugas is a manifestation of retinal vascular lesion and associated with the presence of APS and elevated blood pressure in patients with SLE. There is an association of an occlusive process in the fundus of the eye with different symptoms of APS and primarily with IgG of aCL, LA, and thrombocytopenia.