Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada Disease

Abstract

Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease is an autoimmune disorder characterized by bilateral granulomatous panuveitis frequently associated with multiple extraocular findings such as vitiligo, poliosis, dysacusis, alopecia, and neurological involvement. In 1906, Vogt reported a patient with nontraumatic uveitis associated with poliosis. Bilateral idiopathic uveitis patients with poliosis, vitiligo, dysacousia, and alopecia were subsequently reported by Koyanagi in 1929. Because of the uniformity of these findings, disease reported by Vogt and Koyanagi was identified as one uveitis entity and named as Vogt–Koyanagi syndrome. In 1926, a disease characterized by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) change and retinal detachment was reported by Harada as a separate uveitis entity. Subsequently, more and more studies suggested that Vogt–Koyanagi syndrome and Harada disease are the different manifestations in different stages of the same disease. In a study on 410 Chinese VKH patients, we revealed that Harada disease is the early manifestation, whereas Vogt–Koyanagi syndrome is the feature in recurrent stage (Yang et al. 2007).