Alpha 1-antitrypsin and acute anterior uveitis.

To test the pathogenetic role of the phenotype MZ of alpha 1-antitrypsin/alpha 1-protease inhibitor (PI) in acute anterior uveitis (AAU), 156 patients with AAU were examined. Sera of all patients and 120 healthy controls were PI-typed using isoelectric focusing. There were no significant differences in PI MZ frequencies either between the patients with AAU (4.5%) and the controls (4.2%), or between AAU patients with associated rheumatic diseases (4.8%) and AAU patients with no associated disease (4.3%). The results indicate that the PI MZ type is not closely associated with AAU among Finns.