Uveitis

Uveitis – General Information

Uveitis is an inflammation of the patient’s uvea, which is the vascular layer of the eye (the eye is known to be surrounded on one side by retina and on the other side by the white of the eye, also known as sclera). This layer extends toward the front of the patient’s eye, reaching the iris, choroids layer and ciliary body. The most common form of the disease is characterized by an inflammation of the patient’s iris, also known as iritis. Uveitis is a medical disorder that usually affects individuals with the age between twenty and fifty years old, and if it is left untreated it can lead to permanent vision loss. This complication can be prevented and avoided by consulting the doctor in an early stage of the disease, when the first signs and symptoms appear.

Usually, the cause of the disease is hardly determined, and can be associated with autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis, inflammatory disorders, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, infections such as syphilis, toxoplasmosis or tuberculosis, eye injury and certain cancers, such as lymphoma, that can cause complications to the patient’s eye. This disease (Uveitis) can be categorized as anterior, intermediate, posterior and panuveitic. The most common form of the disease is the anterior type that develops as a single episode and can be cured with proper care. The first signs and symptoms of the anterior form of the disease can include red eye, injected conjunctive, pain, decreased vision, dilated ciliary vessels, presence of cells and flare in the anterior chamber, and keratic precipitate on the posterior side of the cornea.

Uveitis – Symptoms

Uveitis – Treatment

In most cases, if the treatment is applied in an early stage of this medical condition (called Uveitis), it can cure it, but if the treatment is not applied properly or not applied at all, the patient can experience serious complications such as cataracts, glaucoma, band keratopathy, retinal edema and permanent vision loss. The treatment’s efficiency depends on the type and, duration severity of the disease or on the responsiveness to the treatment of Uveitis. There are cases in which the treatment can be influenced by other diseases. When the patient starts to experience the first signs and symptoms of this disorder, he must contact an eye specialist (an ophthalmologist), in order to perform a complete eye exam and ask him or her certain questions related to the specific signs that he or she experiences and to his medical history. If the doctor determines that the cause of the disease is the presence of another medical condition, he may perform a complete medical examination and special laboratory tests. For this reason, it is why it is very challenging to diagnose this kind of clinical condition; however, most doctors do their best in finding out if the cause is infectious or is a complication from another illness.

In most cases, if Uveitis is caused by an underlying disease, the treatment’s goal is to cure that specific disease. In general, the treatment focuses in reducing the inflammation in the patient’s eye. The most common treatment options used to treat this type of medical condition can include anti inflammatory medicines, antibiotic or viral medicines, immunosuppressive or cytoxic medicines and surgery. In most cases, doctors prescribe corticosteroids as anti inflammatory drugs, which can be applied as eye drops. The medicine can also be taken in as a pill or administered as an injection. If the condition is caused by a certain infection, antibiotics and antiviral medicines can control the infection, and for best results it can be administered in combination with anti inflammatory drugs. The immunosuppressive or cytoxic medicines can be applied if the patient’s condition does not respond to the corticosteroid treatment or if it progresses enough to threaten his vision.

The most common surgical procedure that can be used to treat Uveitis is vitrectomy, which consists in removing the soft material in the patient’s eye called vitreous. This procedure can also be used by some doctors to diagnose the disease. In most cases, the part of the patient’s eye that has been affected by the disorder, either the anterior or the posterior part of the uvea, can determine its duration. If the treatment for the anterior type of the condition is applied properly and in time, it can heal the infection in at least two or three weeks. On the other hand, the posterior form of the disease can take months or even years to heal or it can permanently affect the patient’s vision. Uveitis is a disease that can recur, and if it is left untreated it can cause certain complications such as abnormally high pressure inside the patient’s eye, damage to the optic nerve, clouding of the cornea, scar tissue inside the eye, retinal problems, such as retinal detachment, and, in severe cases, vision loss.