Equine recurrent uveitis: the viewpoint from the USA.

This paper focuses on equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), a common condition affecting horses in the USA. It discusses the advances in treatment, mentions the frequent misdiagnosis, and emphasises the importance of differentiating primary uveitis from ERU, as the latter is an immune-mediated recurrent inflammation.

Introduction to Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU)

• This research article discusses ERU, which is a prevalent disease among horses in the United States.
• ERU is an immune-mediated recurrent inflammation, meaning that the horse’s immune system is involved in causing repeated bouts of inflammation.

Misdiagnosis and Differentiation of ERU

• Issues of frequent misdiagnosis are addressed, highlighting the challenge in distinguishing ERU from primary corneal or uveal diseases.
• There is a critical difference between a primary uveitis (inflammation occurring once only) and ERU, which is recurrent.
• This differentiation is crucial to understand as it impacts the method and length of treatment provided for the horse.

Treatment of ERU

• The article emphasizes advances in ERU treatment procedures, demonstrating progress in addressing this common equine condition.
• For most cases, standard symptomatic anti-inflammatory therapy, which is aimed at reducing inflammation and alleviating symptoms, is effective in controlling ERU.
• However, in certain situations, if standard therapy does not yield positive results, more advanced treatments are necessitated.
• These advanced therapeutic methods may include the placement of drug delivery devices, which provide continuous medication delivery, or vitrectomy, a surgical procedure to remove some or all of the vitreous humor from the eye.