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What Causes Uveitis?

Causes of Anterior Uveitis

Causes of Anterior Uveitis In more than a third of anterior uveitis cases, the exact cause is unknown but may include:

  • Ankylosing spondylitis
  • Reactive arthritis
  • Psoriatic arthropathy
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)
  • Herpes
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Fuch’s heterochromic iridocyclitis
  • Lupus
  • Intraocular lens surgically implanted to replace a cataract lens
  • Posner-Schlossman syndrome (PSS)
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Syphilis
  • Tuberculosis (TB)
  •  Lyme disease

Causes of Intermediate Uveitis

In more than two thirds of all cases of intermediate uveitis, the exact cause is unknown. The remaining third of all cases are thought to be caused by conditions such as:

  • Sarcoidosis
  • Multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Lyme disease

Causes of Posterior Uveitis

In more than one in ten cases of posterior uveitis the cause is unknown. The following is a list of common causes of posterior uveitis.

  • Toxoplasmosis
  • Cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMV retinitis)
  • Lupus
  • Birdshot retinochoroidopathy
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Acute retinal necrosis
  • Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)
  • Behcet’s disease
  • Syphilis
  • Acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy (APMPPE)
  • Serpiginous choroidopathy

Causes of Panuveitis

As with other kinds of uveitis, the cause of panuveitis is often unknown. Other possible causes include:

  • Sarcoidosis
  • Behcet’s disease
  • Lupus
  • Syphilis
  • Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome
  • Tuberculosis (TB)
  • Fungal Retinitis

Causes of Uveitis in Children

Often, the cause of the uveitis is unknown. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a leading cause of uveitis in children.

  • Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)
  • Toxoplasmosis
  • Toxocariasis
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome
  • Acute retinal necrosis
  • Reactive arthritis
  • Lupus
  • Behcet’s disease
  • Fuch’s heterochromic iridocyclitis
  • Chicken pox