What is Uveitis?

Uveitis is an inflammation of the inner eye, which includes the iris, the ciliary body that holds the lens of the eye and the choroid plexus, a network of blood vessels surrounding the eyeball. Uveitis exudates into the anterior chamber and causes discoloration of the iris and a constricted, sluggish pupil.

Uveitis is often classified by which part of the uvea it affects. Anterior uveitis refers to inflammation of the iris alone or the iris and ciliary body; anterior uveitis is the most common form. Intermediate uveitis refers to inflammation of the ciliary body. Posterior uveitis is inflammation of the choroid. Diffuse uveitis is inflammation in all areas of the uvea.

Uveitis Symptoms and Signs

With anterior uveitis, your symptoms will likely affect only one eye. You will feel mild to strong pain and
will have redness and light sensitivity. Your vision may also be blurred.
Both intermediate and posterior uveitis are usually painless. Symptoms are blurred vision and floaters,
typically in both eyes. Most people who develop intermediate uveitis are in their teens, 20s or 30s.
Diffuse uveitis has a combination of symptoms of all types of uveitis.

What Causes Uveitis?

Uveitis has dozens of causes, including viral, fungal, and bacterial infections, but in many cases, the cause is
unknown (idiopathic). Eyecare practitioners can sometimes identify the cause if there has been trauma to the
eye, such as from surgery or a blow, or if you have an infectious or immunological systemic disorder.
Some of the many different systemic disorders that can cause uveitis include:

• acute posterior multifocal placoid
  
• pigment epitheliopathy
  
• ankylosing spondylitis
  
• Behçet's disease
  
• birdshot retinochoroidopathy
  
• brucellosis
  
• herpes simplex
  
• herpes zoster
  
• inflammatory bowel disease
  
• juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
  
• Kawasaki's disease
  
• leptospirosis
  
• Lyme disease
• multiple sclerosis
• presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome
  
• psoriatic arthritis
  
• Reiter's syndrome
  
• sarcoidosis
  
• syphilis
  
• systemic lupus erythematosus
  
• toxocariasis
  
• toxoplasmosis
  
• tuberculosis
  
• Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome

Treatment of Uveitis

Uveitis is a serious eye condition that may cause permanent scars. Immediate and appropriate treatment is the secret to success. Treatment with steroids and pupil-dilating eye drops, with or without systemic medications, is necessary.

• Uveitis is underestimated as a cause of blindness in most blindness surveys.
  
• Accurate treatment of uveitis is possible only when an etiological diagnosis is made.
  
• The conventional treatment of uveitis of unknown origin with systemic corticosteroids can be harmful in areas where HIV, tuberculosis and leprosy are endemic.
  
• Uveitis is associated not only with visual disability but also with systemic diseases, and therefore is with increased morbidity.
  
• Recent developments in the diagnosis of uveitis has shown that an etiological diagnosis can be established in 70 percent of uveitis patients. Increasing awareness of uveitis, conducting proper workups and treating the disease may bring down the incidence of blindness due to uveitis.