Eales' Disease: When the Rare Sounds Frequent.

Eales' disease is a peripheral occlusive retinal phlebitis, with an unclear pathogenesis. The classic association with hypersensitivity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein infers that immunologic disturbance may be involved. Here, we described three cases of Eales' disease. All patients are Caucasian men aged 27-58 years and presented with vitreous hemorrhage and/or peripheral venous vasculitis. Tuberculin skin sensitive test (Mantoux screening test) and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) were positive in all patients. Therapeutic approach included antituberculosis therapy and systemic steroids, associated or not to immunosuppressive therapy, and retinal scatter photocoagulation in all cases. Antivascular endothelial grow factor (VEGF) intravitreal injections were also required in two cases. Since various retinal diseases can resemble this presentation, Eales' disease is considered a diagnosis of exclusion. Early diagnosis and appropriate therapeutic approach are both essential to accomplish disease control and reduce ophthalmologic complications.

Tubulointerstitial Nephritis and Uveitis Syndrome: Case Series and Literature Review.

Tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome (TINU) is a rare oculorenal inflammatory entity with a probable autoimmune etiology. Interstitial nephritis may be asymptomatic and usually has a benign course with spontaneous resolution. Uveitis, instead, is classically anterior, bilateral, and nongranulomatous, but it can be unilateral and presents as posterior uveitis or panuveitis, sometimes with a chronic or recurrent evolution. The frequent time lag of ocular and renal manifestations makes this diagnosis particularly challenging. The authors describe four cases of this rare entity, two with tubulointerstitial nephritis preceding ocular manifestations and the remaining, instead, with uveitis preceding renal involvement. The therapeutic approach included systemic corticosteroids in all cases. The addition of immunosuppressive therapy was required in three patients to achieve uveitis control. TINU is probably an underrecognized entity and should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of a chronic or recurrent idiopathic uveitis, especially in young patients who may have mild and asymptomatic renal disease.

Amniotic membrane graft after excision of widespread conjunctival concretions / Enxerto de membrana amniótica após remoção de concreções conjuntivais

ABSTRACT Conjunctival concretions are single or clustered lesions frequently found on the palpebral conjunctiva. They are commonly present in older individuals, despite being rarely symptomatic. This case report describes an 83-year-old man with multiple conjunctival concretions, which were surgically treated. The patient was symptomatic on presentation and did not respond to conservative treatment. For this reason, a surgical approach was considered. After wide excision of the conjunctival lesions, a piece of amniotic membrane was fitted using fibrin glue. During follow-up, a markedly improvement in patient's symptoms was observed, along with nearly complete absence of conjunctival concretions. This is the first case report addressing extensive conjunctival concretions with a surgical approach using amniotic membrane. The authors conceived the technique described after noticing the limited clinical options in the literature. This technique was easily performed and achieved satisfactory results.

RESUMO As concreções conjuntivais representam lesões amareladas, simples ou múltiplas, frequentemente encontradas na conjuntiva palpebral. São mais prevalentes em idades avançadas e raramente sintomáticas. Este relato de caso descreve o quadro clínico de um paciente de 83 anos com múltiplas concreções conjuntivais, cirurgicamente tratadas. Por se tratar de um paciente sintomático com resposta insuficiente ao tratamento conservador, foi considerada a abordagem cirúrgica. Após remoção das lesões, foi aplicado um enxerto de membrana amniótica, adaptado com cola de fibrina. No acompanhamento pós-operatório, verificou-se melhoria significativa dos sintomas, com desaparecimento quase total das concreções conjuntivais. Este é o primeiro caso que descreve uma abordagem cirúrgica com utilização de membrana amniótica na resolução desse tipo de lesões. A técnica, de fácil execução e com resultados muito favoráveis, foi desenvolvida pelos autores após constatarem a escassez de alternativas na literatura.