05/06/2024
Uveitis is not a single disease. Similar to arthritis (joint inflammation), uveitis can be a part of many different disease processes. Different types of uveitis often follow characteristic patterns that are distinguished by factors such as what part of the eye is affected, if the inflammation involves one or both eyes, if the inflammation began suddenly or gradually, if the inflammation completely resolves with treatment which can be stopped (acute or recurrent acute), or if it recurs off therapy (chronic) disease. Of these many subsets, the most common presentation for uveitis is undoubtedly acute anterior uveitis or AAU.
Anterior means that the front portion of the uvea, the iris and ciliary body, are primarily affected by the inflammation. The anterior part of the uvea is the iris that surrounds the pupil and the adjacent ciliary body that synthesizes aqueous humor, the fluid that fills the front of the eye. Inflammatory cells in anterior uveitis may therefore be seen in the anterior chamber (iritis), and sometimes the anterior vitreous (behind the lens, in iridocyclitis).
Acute disease is characterized by a sudden onset and limited duration. The symptoms of acute anterior uveitis are pain, redness, and photophobia (sensitivity to light), that typically develop rapidly, over a few days. The symptoms will resolve with appropriate anti-inflammatory therapy. If therapy can be tapered and inflammation does not recur for at least three months off of treatment, the disease is said to be of limited duration. The episode may be a single episode, or may be recurrent, with symptoms and signs recurring after at least three months of absence of inflammation off of all therapy. This is in contrast to chronic disease, where inflammation (with or without symptoms) recurs when medication is tapered and stopped.
