Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (대한기생충학·열대의학회)
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Clinical Features and Treatment of Ocular Toxoplasmosis

  • Park, Young-Hoon (Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Nam, Ho-Woo (Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea)
  • Received : 2013.05.21
  • Accepted : 2013.08.07
  • Published : 2013.08.31
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Abstract

Ocular toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by the infection with Toxoplasma gondii through congenital or acquired routes. Once the parasite reaches the retina, it proliferates within host cells followed by rupture of the host cells and invasion into neighboring cells to make primary lesions. Sometimes the restricted parasite by the host immunity in the first scar is activated to infect another lesion nearby the scar. Blurred vision is the main complaint of ocular toxoplasmic patients and can be diagnosed by detection of antibodies or parasite DNA. Ocular toxoplasmosis needs therapy with several combinations of drugs to eliminate the parasite and accompanying inflammation; if not treated it sometimes leads to loss of vision. We describe here clinical features and currently available chemotherapy of ocular toxoplasmosis.

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References

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