Chapter 12 - Ophthalmological manifestations of systemic autoimmune diseases

Abstract

Autoimmune eye diseases are usually part of systemic autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS), seronegative spondyloarthropathies, giant cell arteritis (GCA), multiple sclerosis (MS), granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), and Graves’ disease (GD). Ophthalmological involvement can be not only mild but also devastating, leading to blindness. Unrecognized and untreated inflammatory eye diseases lead to devastating complications and irreversible structural and functional eye changes; therefore, they need to be regularly monitored and properly treated. New insights into the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases have led to the design of targeted treatments for eye manifestations of autoimmune diseases, which are highlighted in this chapter.