Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome in a Greenlandic Inuit

Purpose: To report a case of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome (VKH) in an Inuit. Methods: We carried out a medical evaluation and human leucocyte antigen (HLA) genotyping. Results: A 36-year-old male Inuit developed severely decreased vision, intense headache and vertigo over a 3-week period. Ocular examination revealed panuveitis with bilateral serous retinal detachment and optic nerve head oedema. There was no history of ocular trauma or evidence suggestive of other disease entities. The patient responded well to high-dose systemic prednisolone. Vitiligo presented late in the course. Conclusions: This case report describes the first published case of VKH in a patient of Inuit ancestry. The patient was homozygous for HLA-DR4, a genotype previously associated with VKH.