Harada's disease and Vogt-Koyanagi syndrome; uveoencephalitis.

Abstract

THE PURPOSE of this paper is to present a case of Harada's disease, to emphasize certain unusual clinical findings and to point out that the differences between the Vogt-Koyanagi syndrome and Harada's disease are superficial and do not warrant classification of the two as separate disorders. Harada's disease, like the Vogt-Koyanagi syndrome, is a severe nontraumatic bilateral uveitis, usually with one or more associated features; namely, alopecia, poliosis, vitiligo and dysacousia. In a large percentage of the cases reported belonging to both groups, there is a prodromal meningismal episode which may be marked by nausea, emesis, fever, severe headache, drowsiness, vertigo, pleocytosis and occasionally other neurological findings. While the incidence of both diseases is higher among the heavily pigmented races and between the ages of 20 and 50, it does not seem related to sex, geographic location or economic factors. The course of each illness is chronic, running for many