Immunology of Eye Diseases

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

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2. Immunogenetics of Eye Diseases

   • D. A. Brewerton

   Pages 1-8

3. Bullous Disorders of Skin Affecting the Conjunctiva

   • S. Lightman

   Pages 9-21

4. Immunological Aspects of Anterior Segment Disease of the Eye Induced by Herpes Simplex Virus

   • C. Claoué, S. Howie

   Pages 23-40

5. Immunology of Corneal Transplantation

   • M. G. Falcon

   Pages 41-60

6. Basic Mechanisms in Immune-mediated Uveitic Disease

   • R. R. Caspi

   Pages 61-86

7. Immunopathology of Ocular Inflammatory Disorders

   • S. Lightman, C.-C. Chan

   Pages 87-99

8. Demyelinating Optic Neuropathy

   • D. A. Francis, W. I. McDonald

   Pages 101-120

9. Immunology of Ocular Tumours

   • A. Garner, A. McCartney

   Pages 121-143

10. Immune Disorders with Ocular Involvement

    • K. Fairburn, D. A. Isenberg

    Pages 145-166

11. Back Matter

    Pages 167-171

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The eye can become involved in immune-mediated diseases that affect it alone or as part of a multi-organ disease process. Much immunological attention has been focused on other organs affected by these processes and the subject of the immunology of eye diseases is a relatively new one. Many of these diseases that involve the eye are not life-threatening but can result in devastat­ ing loss of sight that if bilateral, will have major effects on the patient's life. Systemic immunological investigations are generally unhelpful in these patients and one of the major problems in this field has been the lack of diseased tissue available for examination to determine the pathological processes involved. Our poor understanding of basic mechanisms of disease in the eye has meant that treatment of many of these conditions is often inadequate. It has become possible to apply in the eye many ofthe techniques used to investigate the role of the immune system in other systems. Animal models of many of the disease processes have also allowed dissection of the immune response both within and outside the eye. It is my belief that a greater understanding of the mechanisms by which the structures in the eye become damaged will allow more specific and effective therapeutic strategies to be devised.

• diseases
• eye
• genetics
• pathology
• transplantation
• virus

• Institute of Ophthalmology, University of London, London, UK

  Susan Lightman

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