Uveitis is an inflammation (swelling and irritation) inside the eye, affecting the uvea. The
uvea is the layer of the eye between the sclera and the retina and provides most of the blood
supply to the retina.
Uveitis is an important cause of visual loss. There are 30,000 new cases of legal blindness
each year due to uveitis in the U.S. Sight-threatening complications associated with uveitis
include macular edema, which may persist even when inflammation is controlled. The only
current treatment for cystoid macular edema (CME) in uveitis patients is oral or regional
steroid injections. For patients who don't respond to steroids or who are unable to tolerate
steroid therapy, there are no other medical treatments.
The aim of this study is to determine if ranibizumab, an FDA-approved treatment for
neovascular age-related macular degeneration, is an effective treatment for those patients
with uveitis-induced CME who are unable to be treated with or non-responsive to steroids.