Multifocal posterior uveitis: clinical and pathological findings

Abstract

A pathological study was performed on the necropsy eyes of a 59-year old-woman who had suffered for nine years from multifocal posterior uveitis. The disease had been controlled by steroid therapy with good preservation of visual function. Extensive investigation did not reveal the aetiology. On macroscopic examination numerous focal lesions with various degrees of pigmentation were observed scattered across the fundi. These lesions were studied by light and electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. There was ongoing chorioretinal inflammation in the foci, producing destruction of Bruch's membrane, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and the outer retina. The focal scars showed migration of RPE and glial cells and neovascularisation. Capillary and venule endothelial cells were swollen at the inflammatory sites. Attempts to establish a cause for this condition were unsuccessful.