Peripheral vascular endothelial dysfunction in glaucomatocyclitic crisis: A preliminary study

PURPOSE. Glaucomatocyclitic crisis (GCC) is a syndrome of recurrent unilateral increased intraocular pressure associated with mild cyclitis and few clinical symptoms. This study was undertaken to assess brachial artery endothelium-dependent flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) as an indicator of vascular endothelial function, to describe the association between GCC and endothelial dysfunction excluding age effects. METHODS. This prospective study was conducted from January 2007 to April 2009 and included 12 patients with GCC and 15 age-matched normal control subjects. Detailed clinical parameters were reviewed, including highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), homocysteine, anti-SSA, anti-cardiolipin antibodies, and HLA type. Brachial artery FMD and endotheliumindependent, nitroglycerin-mediated vasodilation (NMD) were studied by using high-resolution, two-dimensional (2-D) ultrasonic imaging. RESULTS. Twelve patients with GCC were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 36.3 years including 5 (41.6%) women and 7 (58.4%) men. There were no significant differences between patients with GCC and control subjects with regard to basal data, including body mass index, smoking, blood pressure, complete blood count, and routine blood biochemistries. Homocysteine and hs-CRP were within normal limits. Two (16.7%) patients were positive for HLA-B27, anti-SSA, and anticardiolipin antibodies. The nitroglycerin-mediated vasodilation in the patients with GCC was not significantly different from that of the control group. The FMD was much lower in the GCC group than in the control groups (mean 4.81% vs. 7.89%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS. The significantly lower FMD in patients with GCC implies peripheral vascular endothelial dysfunction. However, in the 16.7% positive for the HLA-B27, anti-SSA, and anticardiolipin antibodies, these parameters are associated with GCC and abnormal FMD.