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Article
April 1945

UVEITIS, WITH POLIOSIS, VITILIGO, ALOPECIA AND DYSACOUSIA: (VOGT-KOYANAGI SYNDROME)

Author Affiliations

MEDICAL CORPS, ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES

Arch Ophthalmol. 1945;33(4):281-292. doi:10.1001/archopht.1945.00890160035003
Abstract

Bilateral uveitis associated with alopecia, poliosis, vitiligo and dysacousia has been described in ophthalmic literature 47 times. Recently the name Vogt-Koyanagi syndrome has been offered to supplant these harsh sounding terms,1 and Martínez2 has attempted to rename the syndrome Vogt-Harada disease. The latter suggestion has a further purpose than mere lingual torsion, for Martínez has tried to link the signs and symptoms of the more malignant Vogt-Koyanagi syndrome with those of the usually benign Harada disease. According to Babel's definition a case of nontraumatic bilateral uveitis accompanied by any or all of the associated signs—namely, poliosis, vitiligo, alopecia and dysacousia—should be regarded as an instance of the Vogt-Koyanagi syndrome.3 This definition has been accepted for the purposes of the present study.

It is known that the disease in question has a protracted course, responds poorly to treatment and usually terminates in partial or complete blindness. The purpose

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