Value of estimating intraocular antiboddy production in diagnosi of typical and atypical lesions of ocular toxoplasmosis

ABSTRACT

Serum and aqueous humor [AH] samples were collected from 45 patients 20 with typically active or reactivated retinal lesions of Toxoplasma [group I], 16 with atypical lesions [group II] and 9 with old quiescent scars [group III]. Also, serum and AH samples were collected from 10 patients with chronic toxoplasmosis without any ocular manifestation [group IV]. T. gondii specific IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies were measured by ELISA in AH and serum and the intraocular [local] antibody production was determined by calculating Goldman- Witmer coefficient [GWC]. IgG antibodies were the only class detected in all sera of patients with ocular and nonocular toxoplasmosis. An intraocular IgG antibody synthesis was confirmed in 95% and 37.5% of patients with typical [group I] and atypical [group II] posterior uveitis, respectively, and in no one of either patients with quiescent scars [group III] or the ophthalmologically free patients [group IV]. As regards the typical active lesions, the sensitivity of the IgG assay [95%] was higher than that of IgA [60%] and IgM [5%] assays