Uveitis is an inflammation of the uvea. The uvea is the front part of the eye. It includes the iris, which is the colored part of the eye, and the parts right next to and behind the iris. Uveitis may hurt a lot of parts of the eye. It may last as long as six weeks, or it may last a shorter time.
Uveitis is a common but serious eye problem that affects over 300,000 patients in the United States, with European prevalence estimated at about 200,000. Experts estimate that uveitis causes 10% of new cases of blindness in the United States each year.
Corticosteroids and other drugs that have a general suppressing effect on the immune system are typically the first-line treatments for uveitis.
Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have found a unique cell type that, in tests on mice, can protect against uveitis—a group of inflammatory diseases that affect the eye and can cause vision loss.