What is Uveitis?
Dr. Izza Italia | July 12, 2022
Uveitis came from the Greek words Uvea (grape) + itis (inflammation). The uvea is the middle, pigmented part of the eye, it consists of the colored iris filtering the light entering the eye, the ciliary body producing aqueous humor nourishing the eye and the choroid supporting nutrient and waste transport of the outer part of the retina.
Inflammation of the eye affects the function of the uvea (iris, ciliary body and choroid), the common signs are eye redness from increased blood flow to the inflamed eye, photophobia or fear of the light, triggered by ciliary muscles around the ciliary body, floating inflammatory cells in the visual field and blurring of vision or dimness of vision from the swelling in the light sensing portion of the retina.
The uveitidis are complex and rare eye diseases in the sense that the eyes are compromised from a pathologic process outside the eye. The causes are also unique and require an experienced investigator, exhaustive laboratory tests, eye exams and scans to find the trigger of eye inflammation, scientifically and in my experience, the source is sometimes – an old infection, an ongoing infection, a silent infection, an autoimmune disease, an evolving autoimmune disease, or a masquerading cancerous disease.
Uveitis Specialists need to get to the root of the problem, in order to control the disease, most of the time I co-manage with a team of Infectious Disease Specialist and a Rheumatologist to achieve optimum control of the disease. Some of the cases that I most frequently manage are Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Retinitis, Intraocular Tuberculosis (TB), Syphilitic Uveitis, Anterior Uveitis, Uveitic Complicated Cataracts, Vogt Koyanagi Harada Disease, Uveitic Complicated Glaucoma, and a lot of long standing chronic uveitidies that don’t resolve with treatment. I can never over emphasize the synergistic effect of team-based approach to evaluate patient’s response to treatment and safety of procedures.
Patients are equally responsible partners. A good understanding of their disease helped them looked past the hurdles of repeated eye exams and battery of tests, frequent monitoring and look forward to quiescence, our favorite in uveitis terminology. Quiescence, after identifying the root of the problem and administering supervised treatment, the inflammation subsided, the inflammation is controlled, the once red eyes turned white and quiet.
