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PMR and Macula Edema

Posted , 5 users are following.

Judygirl
Judygirl

Has anyone been diagnosed with PMR and Macula Edema, there

seems to be a connection but can't figure it out.   Taking prednisone for

PMR and having Lucentis injections in the eyes for macula edema.  If

anyone has experienced this situation I would love to hear from them.

Judygirl.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • EileenH
    EileenH Judygirl

    Posted

    There is no real connection that I know of. Macular oedema occurs when the veins draining the blood supply to the retina are blocked and the blood backs up in the retina - like a block in the waste pipe from the sink stops the water getting away.

    PMR is due to an underlying autoimmune disorder that causes your immune system not to recognise your body's cells as you and so it attacks them as if they were a virus or bacteria causing an infection. If this goes on to cause GCA you may also get blurred vision - but it is a totally different reason: the arteries that take blood carrying oxygen to the optic nerve are blocked and the optic nerve is damaged, the cells may even die and it is no longer working to take images from the eye to the brain - which is where we really "see" as the brain acts like a TV screen interpreting the signals from your TV aerial.

    • Judygirl
      Judygirl EileenH

      Posted

      It's interesting that you feel this is an autoimmune disease and I

      was wondering if you could tell me where you found this information

      as I would like to put it into the mix.   Thank you for your help.  Judygirl.

    • EileenH
      EileenH Judygirl

      Posted

      It isn't a case of "I feel" this is an autoimmune disorder - that is the common consensus within the medical community and can be found in countless publications from Wikipaedia to the Mayo Clinic. As early as 1997 this

      "Immunology

      The concept that PMR cannot be an autoimmune disease because of the lack of autoantibodies has been challenged by the finding of anti-lamin B2 antibodies specific for the C terminus in PMR patients. Other findings that suggest involvement of the immune system are the decrease of circulating CD8+ lymphocytes, which return to normal values with remission, the increased concentration of soluble CD8, soluble interleukin 2 (IL2) receptors and intercellular adhesion molecule 1, and the pattern of cells infiltrating the synovial membrane. These are mainly CD4+ lymphocytes and macrophages with intense expression of HLAII class antigens. This pattern, which is very close to that seen in GCA, is highly suggestive of efficient antigen presentation and of consequent antigen driven immune inflammation."

      was part of paper published in the BMJ.

      There is a whole host of publications - I couldn't begin to give you references.

  • christine26681
    christine26681 Judygirl

    Posted

    That's interesting Judygirl as I also have PMR and macular oedema. Mine is cystoid macular oedema. I don't think there's a connction directly but it is not uncommon for more than one autoimmune disease to exist at the same time. Although macular oedema isn't an autoimmune disease it can be a complication of a type of autoimmune disease affecting the eyes. I have Fuch's uveitis, an autoimmune eye condition, and the macular oedema is part of this.

    Christine

    • Judygirl
      Judygirl christine26681

      Posted

      I was having monthly eye injections of Lucentis for cyctis macula edema when I was diagnosed with PMR so I inaturally thought there

      was a connection as I was perfectly healthy until  I began the eye

      injections monthly for several months.  The eyesight improved but I

      was left with PMR.

      It's a bit of a cunudrum because the exact cause of both maladies

      seems to be in question from all the research papers I have read.

      Please keep in touch Christine, maybe we can figure this out in some

      way ourselves.     Judygirl.

       

    • EileenH
      EileenH Judygirl

      Posted

      I think the fairest comment here is "correlation is not causation"! 

      It is possible there is connection - but not in the way we would normally think of it. Patients are often found to have an autoimmune problem soon after stress - it isn't that one causes the other but they are noticed at similar times.

      From your other posts Judygirl - good on you! You sound to be doing very well despite your problems!

    • christine26681
      christine26681 Judygirl

      Posted

      I was never given injections for the macular oedema, just strong steroid drops. It's still there but reduced. My eyesight in that eye will always be limited so I'm told but that's mainly from uveitis damage. I'm so glad your eyesight improved Judygirl.

      I'll definitely keep an eye out (so to speak!) for any connections. I wonder if the lucentis might have got into your system - although I don't know if it can trigger any autoimmune problems.  Christine

  • diana13201
    diana13201 Judygirl

    Posted

    I was diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rheumatica on the 20th December 2019 after struggling with debilitating pain and stiffness in my hips and buttocks and shoulder pain, for the previous three months. I had also lost weight and felt very unwell. As my ESR was only 26 my GP didn't think my inflammatory marker blood test was high enough for Polymyalgia. However, once I started taking Prednisolone (20mg) my symptoms improved rapidly. My dosage of the steroid is now 6mg.

    I had my second cataract operation done on 9th November this year but I have now developed Cystoid Macular Oedema. To be honest I am devastated but hope my sight will improve. I have had one injection into my eye already, and I am using eye drops 4 times daily and I see my eye surgeon again on the 5th January 2021. Please get in touch if I can help in any way.

    • rosemary83494
      rosemary83494 diana13201

      Posted

      I have had Polymyalgia for 3 years now, currently on 5 mg for the last 4 months or so. I have glaucoma, and had cataracts removed from both eyes last year. I now have also got cystoid macular oedema in my left eye, and have had two of a course of three eyeball injections carried out by local anaesthetic. I never gave it a thought that there could be a connection, and think that there probably isn't one. I was told that mine is due to a previous bleed behind my left eye a few years ago- Retinal Vein Occlusion, and after affects from the cataract operation leaving me with fluid on the macular causing a swelling. There was an improvement last time I went when they took photographs behind my eye, and I go back for round three on the 5th January. Hoping this last injection will sort it out for me. I have not been given eye drops to use at the same time. I do have to use eye drops twice a day to control my glaucoma pressure though.

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