These results confirm a continued high frequency of VKH disease and sarcoidosis, but suggest a decreased frequency of Behçet's disease and an increased frequency of tuberculosis. Roughly one-half of the patients required systemic treatment in addition to local therapy, and ocular and/or systemic complications developed in one-fifth of the patients.

Aims-To determine the relation between the stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in aqueous fluid and serum. Methods-Levels of HGF and VEGF in serum and aqueous humour obtained during ocular surgery were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in 58 diabetic patients with 32 non-diabetic patients (NDM) as controls. The patients with diabetes were classified into three groups according to the stage of DR: no DR (NDR; 15 cases), non-proliferative DR (NPDR; six cases), and proliferative DR (PDR; 37 cases). Results-No significant diVerences were found between any of the groups in serum concentrations of HGF or VEGF. The aqueous HGF levels increased with the stage of DR: NDM, median 397 pg/ml, range 133-930 pg/ml; NDR, 371 pg/ml, 142-1536 pg/ml; NPDR, 455 pg/ml, 162-1007 pg/ml; and PDR, 638 pg/ml, 187-2222 pg/ml. The aqueous VEGF levels in PDR (median 212 pg/ml, range 14-1216 pg/ml) were significantly higher than in NDM (105 pg/ml, 9-203 pg/ml), but aqueous HGF concentrations were unrelated to those of VEGF. Conclusion-The results of the present study suggest that both HGF and VEGF present in the ocular tissues may play important roles in the progression of DR. (Br J Ophthalmol 1999;83:834-837) Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a major cause of adult blindness.

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The unusual posterior vitreous strand connected to the optic disc pit may have contributed to the pathogenesis of maculopathy in this young child.

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