Orbital myositis and rheumatoid arthritis: case report. (1/32)

Orbital myositis implies orbital inflammation confined to one or more of the extraocular muscles. The acute form responds well to high doses of oral corticosteroids tapered gradually, but it may recur or become chronic. We describe a 38 years old female who has been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis for six years. She developed diplopia as a result of a paralysis of the right and left rectus medialis muscle. MRI showed inflammatory process and thickness of the referred muscles. The patient had a total recovery with oral use of 80 mg methylprednisolone daily. Two months after the first episode she developed a bilateral ophthalmoplegy. The patient improved with oral use of steroids the second time, but a paresis of the left rectus lateralis muscle remained. From the 156 cases we reviewed only three have been related to rheumatic diseases and none has been previously related to rheumatoid arthritis.  (+info)

A role for methotrexate in the management of non-infectious orbital inflammatory disease. (2/32)

AIM: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of methotrexate for patients with non-infectious orbital inflammatory disease who fail to respond to systemic corticosteroids and/or orbital irradiation. METHODS: The medical records of patients with non-infectious orbital inflammatory disease who were treated with methotrexate at Oregon Health Sciences University between June 1993 and June 2000 were examined. Methotrexate was administered at a median maximum dose of 20 mg per week (range 15-25 mg per week) in conjunction with folate supplementation. Patients were followed with regular ophthalmic examinations, as well as serum liver enzyme levels and blood cell counts. Clinical signs of regression of the orbital inflammation, visual acuity, dosage and duration of methotrexate therapy, requirement for concurrent corticosteroid administration, and adverse drug reactions were recorded. RESULTS: The study cohort included 14 patients (24 eyes) with diagnoses including non-specific orbital inflammation (n=7), Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (n=1), thyroid orbitopathy (n=3), Wegener's granulomatosis (n=1), sarcoidosis (n=1), and Erdheim-Chester disease (n=1). In all cases, methotrexate was commenced as a corticosteroid sparing agent. 10 patients (71%) completed a 4 month therapeutic trial of methotrexate. Median duration of treatment for the nine (64%) patients who experienced clinical benefit was 25 months (range 10-47 months). Six responders were ultimately able to cease methotrexate, including the single patient who required concurrent long term corticosteroid therapy. Complications included fatigue, gastrointestinal disturbance, hair thinning and mild, reversible serum liver enzyme elevation. Two patients (14%) discontinued treatment because of adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Methotrexate is a well tolerated immunosuppressive medication which may benefit patients with recalcitrant non-infectious orbital inflammatory disease.  (+info)

Orbital myositis in scleritis. (3/32)

AIMS: To investigate the association between scleritis and myositis. METHODS: Retrospective, non-comparative case series. Records and ultrasonograms were examined of 132 patients, with a diagnosis of episcleritis or scleritis, who attended the ophthalmology department at Leiden University Medical Center between 1997 and 2000. 103 were eligible for comprehensive examination. Medical records were evaluated. Ultrasonography was performed in all patients diagnosed with episcleritis or scleritis. Clinical features, precipitating factors, systemic associations, ocular complications, treatment, and outcome of each patient were assessed. RESULTS: Of the 103 patients, 27 (26.2%) had episcleritis and 76 (73.8%) had scleritis. Myositis was found to be present in 11 patients. It was present in 14.5% of all patients with scleritis and 30.5% of those in whom the posterior sclera was affected. The presence of the associated myositis did not worsen the visual prognosis and the presence of myositis was not associated with other systemic diseases. There were no cases of unilateral scleritis with bilateral orbital myositis. During an attack ocular complications were more common in patients with scleritis and myositis (64%) than in patients with scleritis alone (30.4%), indicating a more diffuse and potentially dangerous inflammation. There was no evidence that the inflammatory changes in the orbit had spread to involve the sclera, so it is assumed that the muscle changes are an extension of a generalised response to intense inflammation of the episclera and sclera. CONCLUSION: This study found a frequent association between myositis and scleritis. Prognosis for vision was not affected by coexistence of myositis.  (+info)

Technical modification in the intracarotid chemotherapy and osmotic blood-brain barrier disruption procedure to prevent the relapse of carboplatin-induced orbital pseudotumor. (4/32)

The blood-brain barrier disruption (BBBD) procedure is an established strategy to enhance drug delivery to brain tumors. Complication rates associated with this procedure are usually low, but when complications do occur, they usually mandate discontinuation of treatment. Orbital pseudotumor is an inflammatory condition of one or more extraocular muscles that produces limitation of ocular motility. Patients usually experience sudden diplopia associated with orbital pain, conjunctival chemosis and injection, and proptosis. Imaging of the orbit shows diffuse enlargement of the extraocular muscles, exophthalmia, and, rarely, sinusal or intracranial infiltration. On pathologic examinations, the soft tissues of the orbit are infiltrated with a mixture of eosinophils, lymphocytes, and plasma cells. Many etiologies can induce this syndrome, including the intracarotid infusion of platinum molecules. As part of a phase II study, a total of 110 patients were treated for malignant brain tumors with intra-arterial carboplatin, enhanced by the BBBD procedure, at the Sherbrooke University Hospital. Here we report on three patients who developed orbital pseudotumor ipsilateral to the carotid infused a few hours to days after the procedure. After the occurrence of this syndrome in the first patient, we developed a technical modification to the procedure that enabled uninterrupted treatment in the other two patients. This modification was as follows: after the mannitol infusion, and before carboplatin, the catheter was changed for a 3.5 tracker and was repositioned just above the emergence of the ophthalmic artery.  (+info)

Diplopia and periorbital mass associated with Miragel buckling explant. (5/32)

A 28-year-old female presented with a palpable mass lesion on the superonasal aspect of her right globe and she had a progressive diplopia. She had a scleral encircling surgery with a Miragel explant (MIRA, Waltham, Mass, USA) for the tractional retinal detachment associated with pars planitis 9 years previously. On examination, she revealed restricted eye movements of her right eye. The magnetic resonance imaging documented a swelling of the Miragel explant that mimicked a periorbital mass lesion. The Miragel explant was removed and fragmentation of the explant was found intraoperatively. The removed Miragel explant was examined by a scanning electron microscopy, and this demonstrated a disintergrated and swollen structural composition of the Miragel explant. Postoperatively, her extraocular movement was almost restored and the retina remained well attached. Alterations in the structural composition of the Miragel explant results in an excessive swelling that causes a restriction of the extraocular movement, and this can mimick a periorbital mass lesion.  (+info)

Bilateral idiopathic sclerosing inflammation of the orbit: report of three cases. (6/32)

We report 3 cases of bilateral orbital sclerosing inflammation and review the literatures concerning bilateral idiopathic orbital inflammation. We found that when idiopathic orbital inflammation presents as a bilaterally diffuse retrobulbar apical mass, the sclerosing subtype must be considered first, and an orbital biopsy should be performed. The present cases were characterized by chronic-onset, cicatricial inflammation with a mass effect. The most common ocular findings in our study were vision decrease, proptosis, and restriction of extraocular muscle movement. We found that current treatment, using systemic corticosteroids and radiotherapy, was nonspecific, incomplete, or frequently resulted in relapse. For cases refractory to corticosteroids and radiotherapy, early and aggressive multiagent immunosuppressive therapy should be used to minimize visual and ocular disabilities.  (+info)

5-fluorouracil as a phosensitiser. (7/32)

5-FU exhibits a high fluorescence after irradiation with UV-vis light. An enhancement of the cytostatic activity of 5-FU under UV-vis irradiation was observed on an in vivo experimental model.  (+info)

MR imaging of orbital inflammatory pseudotumors with extraorbital extension. (8/32)

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate a variety of MR imaging findings of orbital inflammatory pseudotumors with extraorbital extension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the MR features of five patients, who were diagnosed clinically and radiologically as having an orbital inflammatory pseudotumor with extraorbital extension. RESULTS: The types of orbital pseudotumors were a mass in the orbital apex (n = 3), diffuse form (n = 2), and myositis (n = 1). The extraorbital extension of the orbital pseudotumor passed through the superior orbital fissure in all cases, through the inferior orbital fissure in two cases, and through the optic canal in one case. The orbital lesions extended into the following areas: the cavernous sinus (n = 4), the middle cranial fossa (n = 4), Meckel's cave (n = 2), the petrous apex (n = 2), the clivus (n = 2), the pterygopalatine fossa and infratemporal fossa (n = 2), the foramen rotundum (n = 1), the paranasal sinus (n = 1), and the infraorbital foramen (n = 1). On MR imaging, the lesions appeared as an isosignal intensity with gray matter on the T1-weighted images, as a low signal intensity on the T2-weighted images and showed a marked enhancement on the post-gadoliniumdiethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (post-Gd-DTPA) T1-sequences. The symptoms of all of the patients improved when they were given high doses of steroids. Three of the five patients experienced a recurrence. CONCLUSION: MR imaging is useful for demonstrating the presence of a variety of extraorbital extensions of orbital inflammatory pseudotumors.  (+info)