Active clinical trials for "Uveitis"

Uveitis is an inflammatory disease of one or both eyes. Uveitis will in severe cases lead to permanent loss of vision/blindness on the affected eye. Uveitis can be caused by autoimmune disease, infections and rarely trauma, but 50 % of the cases remain of unknown origin. Intraocular infections are from previous studies, known to be responsible for approximately 40 % of the cases of severe forms of uveitis. Most infectious causes of uveitis have the potential to be treated with antibiotic. Most infectious causes of uveitis are under normal condition only possible to detect by using very specific detection methods. Further more it is often necessary to study a sample from with-in the eye (vitrectomy to get a proper diagnosis. The knowledge about witch kind of infections that causes uveitis, are therefore limited to the kind of infections that are tested for. Our hypothesis are that infections are a frequent cause of severe uveitis in Denmark, and that by using a broad diagnostic approach it is possible to identify new or less recognized infections agents that are associated with uveitis. By this study we want to describe the prevalence and distribution of infections among patients with severe uveitis. In this study are we only including patients with a severe form of uveitis from a referral-hospital setting, where vitrectomy is done for a diagnostic purpose. The patients will undergo a standard diagnostic examination including the most common infectious causes of uveitis. Beside this we will look for a broad range of infection, which has previously been described in the litera-ture to cause uveitis, but are not normally tested for. Further more, we will use broad ranged molecular diagnostic methods to look for new previously unknown bacterial causes of uveitis. Such study has not previously been done previously in Denmark. As control group are included patients that undergo vitrectomy for due either one of the two diseases "epiretinal fibrosis or "macula hole". All patients and controls will be interview using a standardized questionnaire about risk factors for acquiring these infections.

This study will evaluate patients with sarcoidosis to understand how the disease affects the body. Sarcoidosis is a disease that results from inflammation of body tissues. The lungs, lymph nodes in the chest, skin and eyes are most commonly affected. As the disease progresses, small lumps, or granulomas, appear in the affected tissues. In most cases, the granulomas clear up, but in cases where they do not heal and disappear, the tissues tend to remain inflamed. Eye inflammation (uveitis) associated with sarcoidosis can cause various eye diseases, sometimes leading to blindness. This study will examine the clinical, immunological and genetic features of ocular sarcoidosis. Patients 6 years of age and older with sarcoidosis may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with the following procedures: Completion of a questionnaire with medical, social and demographic information Blood draw for laboratory tests Complete eye examination, including measurement of eye pressure and dilation of the pupils to examine the back of the eye. Fluorescein angiography may be done. This test involves injecting a dye into a vein in the arm. The dye travels to the blood vessels in the eyes. A camera flashes a blue light into the eye and takes pictures of the retina that show whether the dye has leaked from the blood vessels into the retina. Other photographs of the eye may also be taken using a special camera. Participants are followed in conjunction with their local eye doctor as required by the status of their disease. Patients whose disease is stable are seen for an initial examination and followed every 12 months for 3 years.

This study will examine the proteins of people with uveitis, or inflammation of the eyes. Evaluating the vitreous, the colorless transparent substance that fills the eyeball in back of the lens, is now possible with the use of new microtechnology. There is an opportunity to evaluate the kinds of proteins that are present in severe, noninfectious sight-threatening uveitis. Patients ages 18 and older who have been enrolled in the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) study at NIH may be eligible for this study. Up to 200 patients eventually may be enrolled. Researchers will study the vitreous that will be removed from patients' eyes during an operation to insert a steroid implant. The steroid implant is used instead of immunosuppressive therapy, a way to reduce the action of the immune system. Patients will undergo a procedure involving a small hole made in the eye into which the implant is placed. Normally a small amount of the vitreous comes out during that procedure, and in this study, the vitreous specimen will be taken for testing of inflammatory products. At the same time, a small sample of blood, about 1-1/2 tablespoons, will be collected so that the researchers can compare inflammatory products that may be in the blood with those in the vitreous. If a patient needs to have the implant placed again during the study, he or she would be asked permission for collection of the vitreous and blood samples, as previously. Samples collected will not be used to diagnose patients' conditions or to change any treatments being done. All samples will be labeled with special code numbers so that there is no identifying information about patients. This study will not involve examinations or scheduled visits of patients.

The purpose of this investigation is to better understand the inflammatory process that occurs in uveitis (eye inflammation) through study of eye tissues. Patients with uveitis sometimes develop cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye) or clouding of the vitreous-the gel-like material behind the lens-that can impair eyesight. Those who require cataract surgery or vitrectomy are eligible for this study. Samples of eye tissue and fluid normally removed during standard surgical procedures for these conditions will be given to researchers instead of discarded, as is usually done. Before surgery, patients will undergo routine preoperative tests, including chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, blood tests and urinalysis. They will also have an eye examination and photographs taken of the retina. Other tests that may be performed include fluorescein angiography to evaluate the blood vessels of the retina; ultrasound to examine the back of the eye; and a gallium scan to evaluate inflammation. Immune cells in the blood and eye tissue will be compared and categorized by disease. The eye fluid will be examined for substances involved in the inflammatory process. These studies may provide information that will lead to improved methods of diagnosis and treatment.

This study is aimed at investigating the long term clinical outcome of patients with uveitis.

Investigate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Toxocara canis in Uveitis serum antibody to T. gondii and T. canis PCR with peripheral blood for T. gondii and T. canis PCR with aqueous humor for T. gondii and T. canis Clinical manifestation of patient with uveitis

Data about psychodynamics in uveitis patients are scare. A negative impact of disease is described not only in adult patients with active, but also with quiescent disease. During adolescence even less is known about psychodynamics although this is an especially sensible and challenging stage of life. Given the assumption that juvenile patients with quiescent disease still could suffer from emotional distress, this would require special attention. In this study the investigators evaluate the impact of juvenile uveitis on HRQoL and attempted to identify clinical and demographic factors contributing to an impaired health status. The investigators limit the study to patients with quiescent uveitis and good visual function in at least one eye to exclude additional negative stressors. As there are no validated uveitis-specific psychometric questionnaires evaluating QoL available yet, the investigators use age-appropriate generic instruments. This should allow obtaining an overview about the adolescents' general Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and whether psychological interventions should be offered to this sensitive patient group.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether some endothelium morphologic variables are different between infectious and noninfectious uveitis group using a noncontact specular microscopy device.

Investigate the impact of the Fluocinolone Acetonide (FA) intravitreal implants

This study will try to identify markers of immune activity in uveitis patients that correlate with the state of disease activity. Uveitis is a group of inflammatory eye diseases that can cause vision loss. The study will examine whether certain substances in the blood can predict a reactivation of disease before it occurs, and how therapy may influence the activity of these substances. Previous studies have found some possible markers called GITR (glucocorticoid induced TNF related family receptor), SOCS (suppressors of cytokine secretion), and interleukin-15. Markers such as these may help guide physicians in safely tapering medicines in uveitis patients. Patients 18 years of age and older with sight-threatening uveitis may be eligible for this study. Participants are slowly tapered off their medicines when their disease is stable and there is no evidence of significant inflammation. If the disease remains inactive during tapering, all drug therapy is eventually stopped. Patients have eye examinations about every 1 to 3 months when the disease is quiet and every 2 to 4 weeks during flare-ups. Blood samples are drawn 2 to 3 times a year. In addition, patients may have the following procedures if needed: Eye photography: Eye drops are given to enlarge the pupils for a thorough eye examination, and a special camera is used to take photographs. Fluorescein angiography: This test checks for abnormalities of eye blood vessels. A yellow dye is injected into an arm vein and travels to the blood vessels in the eyes. Pictures of the retina are taken with a special camera that flashes a blue light into the eye. The pictures show if any dye has leaked from the vessels into the retina, indicating possible abnormalities.