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  • Title: Orbital lobular panniculitis in Weber-Christian disease: sustained response to anti-TNF treatment and review of the literature.
    Author: Mavrikakis I, Georgiadis T, Fragiadaki K, Sfikakis PP.
    Journal: Surv Ophthalmol; 2010; 55(6):584-9. PubMed ID: 20701939.
    Abstract:
    Weber-Christian disease is a febrile, relapsing, non-suppurative panniculitis of unknown etiology. Lobular panniculitis is the essential feature in biopsy specimens and evolves through three recognizable stages. We report a case of Weber-Christian disease with bilateral orbital involvement, at different stages, affecting the orbital fat along with enophthalmos in one orbit, and the upper preaponeurotic fat pad in the other. Weber-Christian disease was refractory to treatment with conventional immunosuppressive regimens; however, early inflammatory-but not chronic fibrotic-orbital lesions responded dramatically to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy. A literature review revealed five additional cases of orbital Weber-Christian disease, none treated with anti-TNF antibodies. Of these, four presented initially with proptosis, representing early stages of inflammation, and two subsequently developed enophthalmos, representing late, inactive stage of the disease. Although orbital Weber-Christian disease is rare, ophthalmologists need to be aware of this entity. Depending on the stage of inflammation, Weber-Christian disease should be included in the differential diagnosis of both proptosis and enophthalmos. Anti-TNF antibodies can successfully treat patients at the early inflammatory stage.
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