This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Lucy H. Y. Young, MD, PhD

JAMA. 1996;275(2):149-150.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV) retinitis is the leading cause of visual loss in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), occurring in about one third of patients with AIDS. Without treatment, the disease is relentless, eventually leading to complete destruction of the retina. In the past decade, many therapeutic options have been used, but the major breakthrough in the management of this devastating disorder took place with the availability of ganciclovir and foscarnet. However, as both agents are unable to eliminate CMV from the infected retina, lifelong therapy is required. Unfortunately, despite treatment with good compliance, reactivation develops in virtually all patients over time. It is also the general impression that the relapse of the retinitis or development of new lesions takes place in increasingly shorter intervals, indicating that the disease becomes harder to control as immune status of the patient worsens.

See also p 142.

The current management of newly diagnosed CMV retitinis is . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

Footnotes
This article is one of a series addressing emerging and reemerging global microbial threats.

Reprint requests to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114 (Dr Young).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?