Association of central retinal vein obstructions and anticardiolipin antibodies

Abstract

In recent years, a relationship between the rising levels of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) and recurrent venous and arterial thrombotic complications has been shown. In this study, we aimed to determine whether there was a relation between central retinal venous obstruction (CRVO) and ACA. Blood samples from 24 patients with CRVO and 29 age matched controls were studied for IgG and IgM ACA by Enzyme-Linked Immunoabsorbant assay (ELISA). Antibody levels for IgG ACA and for IgM ACA greater than 20 GPL U/ml and 10 MPL U/ml were accepted as positive. IgG ACA positivity was found in 37.5% of CRVO patients and 20.6% in controls. On the other hand, IgM ACA positivity was detected in 29.1% and 17.2% of CRVO patients and controls groups, respectively. No statistically significant differences were found between patients and control groups for IgG ACA and IgM ACA positivity (p>0.05). Although, we found no statistically significant differences with regard to the levels of ACA in CRVO patients compared to controls, we believe that the finding of markedly higher levels of ACA in CRVO patients may help to identify the cause of CRVO in cases of unknown aetiology.