Background: To test the hypothesis that varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection contributes to temporal arteritis pathogenesis, comprehensive in situ analysis was performed on temporal artery biopsies of 38 anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) patients, including 14 (37%) with giant cell arteritis.
Methods: Biopsies were completely sectioned, and, on average, 146 serial sections per patient were stained for VZV glycoprotein E.
Results: Four of 38 AION patients showed VZV glycoprotein E staining, but VZV infection was not confirmed by staining for VZV IE63 protein and VZV-specific polymerase chain reaction on adjacent sections.
Conclusions: This study refutes the premise that VZV is casually related to AION with and without giant cell arteritis.
Keywords: anterior ischemic optic neuropathy; giant cell arteritis; immunohistochemistry nonspecific staining; temporal arterial biopsies; varicella-zoster virus.
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.