Analysis of Eye Tissue

March 3, 2008 updated by: National Eye Institute (NEI)

Immunologic Analysis of Intra-Ocular Tissue

The purpose of this investigation is to better understand the inflammatory process that occurs in uveitis (eye inflammation) through study of eye tissues.

Patients with uveitis sometimes develop cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye) or clouding of the vitreous-the gel-like material behind the lens-that can impair eyesight. Those who require cataract surgery or vitrectomy are eligible for this study. Samples of eye tissue and fluid normally removed during standard surgical procedures for these conditions will be given to researchers instead of discarded, as is usually done.

Before surgery, patients will undergo routine preoperative tests, including chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, blood tests and urinalysis. They will also have an eye examination and photographs taken of the retina. Other tests that may be performed include fluorescein angiography to evaluate the blood vessels of the retina; ultrasound to examine the back of the eye; and a gallium scan to evaluate inflammation.

Immune cells in the blood and eye tissue will be compared and categorized by disease. The eye fluid will be examined for substances involved in the inflammatory process. These studies may provide information that will lead to improved methods of diagnosis and treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Detailed Description

The purpose of this project is to evaluate intra-ocular tissue such as iris or vitreous from uveitis patients in order to analyze the type and character of the inflammatory response. Patients with a history of uveitis who require cataract surgery or vitreous surgery because of the clinical complications of inflammation, will be entered in this study. The lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood and ocular tissue will be compared and categorized by disease. The presence of soluble lymphokines in the intra-ocular fluid will be analyzed. Long term cell cultures of vitreal cells will be attempted to define the T-cell receptors. In addition, a portion of iris tissue or vitreous cells will be frozen to establish a tissue library of uveitis.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment

150

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Eye Institute (NEI)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Patients of either sex will be admitted to this study.

All patients should have a previous history of uveitis.

The patient must have lenticular or vitreal opacities which are significantly impairing their vision and for which surgical removal of the opacity has a reasonable chance of improving the vision.

Patients should have vision of 20/80 or worse.

Patients may have any of the following syndromes: anterior uveitis, including HLA-B27-associated iritis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, ocular sarcoid, intermediate uveitis and pars planitis, birdshot retinochoroidopathy, Behcet's disease, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada's syndrome, sympathic ophthalmia and idiopathic posterior uveitis.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 1987

Study Completion

September 1, 2002

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 3, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 3, 1999

First Posted (Estimate)

November 4, 1999

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 4, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 3, 2008

Last Verified

September 1, 2002

More Information

Terms related to this study

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Inflammation

3
Subscribe