Spondyloarthritis and eye disorders
Reactive arthritis is a disease that belongs to the spondyloarthritis group, a group of diseases affecting the connective tissue and manifested by a strong inflammatory state in the joints.
Unlike other spondyloarthritis, the causes of which are not yet well known, thereactive arthritis certainly has ainfectious originand may appear between 1 and 4 weeks after the onset of agenitourinary or gastrointestinal tract infection.
The link between reactive arthritis and eye diseases
Although joint problems are the main consequence of the disease, the activation of the immune system that follows the onset infection may lead to the appearance of symptoms affecting other parts of the body, including the eye.
People with reactive arthritis are in fact often prone to conjunctivitisand a recently published scientific study has shown that this may be due to the infectious nature of the disease.
The researchers who conducted the study compared subjects suffering from osteoarthritis, a chronic disease affecting the joints, and various forms of spondyloarthritis, including reactive arthritis.
The results showed that people most prone to eye disorders are those with reactive arthritisand that the most commonly observed eye disorder in these patients is conjunctivitis, followed by anterior uveitis.
In the majority of people with reactive arthritis who also show eye disease, moreover, the joint disease originated from a very specific infection, that of Chlamydia trachomatisa bacterium responsible for one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, the chlamydia.
This figure is particularly interesting, since cases of chronic reactive arthritis caused precisely by C. trachomatis are the most frequent. The association between reactive arthritis, eye diseases and C. trachomatis suggests a direct involvement of this bacterium in the development of both the joint disorder and related eye diseases.
Uveitis and spondyloarthritis
In addition to conjunctivitis, theuveitis often occurs in cases of reactive arthritis, but is especially associated with another disease of the spondyloarthritis group, ankylosing spondylitisa chronic joint disease which can represent an evolution of reactive arthritis when the latter is not adequately treated.
The researchers suggest considering the presence of uveitis in all young males with back pain such as potential alarm bells for diagnosing ankylosing spondylitis. In this way, it would be possible to reach an early diagnosis that would allow appropriate therapy to be initiated and the progression of the disease to be halted.
Source:
Bănicioiu-Covei S. et al, Correlations between infection patterns and eye damage in reactive arthritis. Rom J Morphol Embryol. 2019; 60(2):601-604
Dr. Carmelo Chines
Direttore responsabile
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