Multifocal posterior uveitis: clinical and pathological findings

There is still much that is unknown of the abnormal pathology in multifocal chorioretinal inflammatory disease. The choroid is the middle of three tunics that covers most of the back of the eye; it is highly vascular and pigmented. The retina is the delicate inner tunic of the eye that is made up of nerve tissue and is continuous with the optic nerve. A case is presented of a woman who died of a heart attack, but previously suffered for nine years from multifocal posterior uveitis (inflammation of the pigmented vascular tunic of the eye beneath the sclera, the outer fibrous tunic of the eye). When first seen the patient had a one-month history of aching pain and blurred vision in both eyes. She had mild inflammation of the iris and swelling of the optic disc (the small blind spot on the surface of the retina where the central artery of the retina enters the eye). The eye inflammation was controlled by steroid therapy and good vision had been preserved for nine years; however, the cause was never determined. Following the woman's death, extensive study of the eye did not reveal the cause of the condition. There was evidence of ongoing chorioretinal inflammation causing destruction of Bruch's membrane (the transparent inner layer of the choroid that is in contact with the pigmented layer of the retina and connects the choroid and the retina), and the retinal pigment epithelium, the outer retina. Neither ischemic (oxygen deprivation of tissue as a result of reduced blood flow) nor infective causes for the disorder were identified. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)