Kurzfassung

Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disorder. We could show in several studies that an autoimmune component might be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Sturge-Weber-Syndrome (SWS) patients suffer very frequently from glaucoma. Thus, we were interested in to investigate, if there is an involvement of changes in antibody profiles in SWS and if these are similar to glaucoma.
In first pilot studies we could prove that there are changes in antibody profiles against ocular antigens in the sera...Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disorder. We could show in several studies that an autoimmune component might be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Sturge-Weber-Syndrome (SWS) patients suffer very frequently from glaucoma. Thus, we were interested in to investigate, if there is an involvement of changes in antibody profiles in SWS and if these are similar to glaucoma.
In first pilot studies we could prove that there are changes in antibody profiles against ocular antigens in the sera of patients suffering from Sturge-Weber-Syndrome.
One of the very interesting points in the preliminary results might be the fact that even SWS patients without glaucoma reveal a very complex immunreactivity against ocular antigens. This might reflect acute ongoing processes in glaucoma or SWS development.
The proposed study will address the following questions:
- Analysis of antibody profiles in SWS patients compared to glaucoma patients with high sophisticated and sensitive mass spectrometry methods and conventional Western blotting
- Identify potential antibody biomarker for SWS

Our pilot studies provide interesting first hints into autoimmune components in SWS which could help to better understand the pathogenesis.
The antibody reactivities we will find in the proposed study might serve as therapeutic markers of the disease or might open new pathways for SWS treatment in the future.
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