It should be noted, especially in cases where the owner has delayed, that severe
cases of uveitis may result in a permanent visual deficit or the need for surgical removal of the eye.
Although he loves all things ophthalmic, special interests within the field include the surgical treatment of retinal detachment, management
of uveitis in large and small animals, and treatment of zoo, aquarium, and wildlife species.
There is an inherited
form of uveitis that occurs in the Golden Retriever breed.
Now, researchers led by Susumu Ishida and Atsuhiro Kanda at Hokkaido University's Graduate School of Medicine have shown that the activation of the receptor - associated prorenin system (RAPS) is involved in the
pathogenesis of uveitis.
Cataracts in cats and horses are most commonly the
result of uveitis (internal eye inflammation, moon blindness).
A veterinary ophthalmologist will use a number of different instruments to illuminate and magnify the structures of the eye in order to make a
diagnosis of uveitis.
Additionally, one study (Esson et al) has theorized that uveitis is not present in GRPU, based on histopathologic evaluation of eyes enucleated due to glaucoma.4 However, other authors believe that uveitis is indeed present, and that the eyes from the Esson study showed little
evidence of uveitis because the eyes had been treated with anti-inflammatory medication prior to their removal.
Until recently, we assumed that many of the
cases of uveitis were due toToxoplasmosis.
The resulting inflammation (a
form of uveitis) is painful and can be damaging to the eye.
Furthermore, none of the
causes of uveitis are particularly likely in a dog of this signalment, and the ones that are reasonably possible (such as infection) would primarily present with systemic signs of illness as well.
Between 40 % an 70 %
of uveitis cases are caused by some other condition in the body.