The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances in the field of uveitis. The most important diagnostic improvement is the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology for the diagnosis of infectious uveitis. Urinary beta-2 microglobulin assay is a new investigational test that is used for the diagnosis of tubulo-interstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome. Interferon-gamma release assays have been developed for the detection of memory T cells in the peripheral blood of patients with latent tuberculosis. New clinical diagnostic criteria enable a diagnosis of ocular sarcoidosis in the absence of biopsy-proven systemic sarcoidosis. Objective and quantitative measurement of anterior chamber flare by laser flare photometry is the most important progress in the assessment and monitoring of intraocular inflammation. Another major development is the use of indocyanine green angiography for accurate assessment of choroidal inflammation. Optical coherence tomography allows noninvasive assessment of uveitic macular edema and other macular pathologies. New therapeutic modalities include intraocular corticosteroid injections and implants, biologic agents that target pro-inflammatory molecules involved in the pathogenesis of uveitis, and anti-VEGF agents that are used for the treatment of neovascularizations secondary to uveitis. New technologies and new therapeutic agents should become available to all uveitis specialists for all uveitis patients to benefit from these advances. (TOD Journal 2010; 40: 179-83)

Keywords: Uveitis, polymerase chain reaction, beta-2 microglobulin, interferon-gamma release assays, laser flare photometry, indocyanine green angiography, optical coherence tomography, biologic agents, anti-VEGF agents