Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pinealitis accompanying equine recurrent uveitis.
- Journal:
- The British journal of ophthalmology
- Year:
- 1993
- Authors:
- Kalsow, C M et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Ophthalmology
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
In this study, researchers looked at the pineal gland of a horse that had gone blind due to a condition called equine recurrent uveitis, which is inflammation of the eye often linked to a previous infection. The horse was euthanized so that its tissues could be examined during this active inflammation. The examination revealed that the pineal gland, which is involved in regulating sleep and other functions, showed significant inflammation with a lot of immune cells present. This finding suggests that the pineal gland might play a role in eye inflammation, not just in horses but possibly in humans as well. Overall, the study indicates a connection between eye inflammation and changes in the pineal gland in this horse.
Abstract
There is no direct verification of pineal gland involvement in human uveitis. Specimens of pineal tissue are not available during active uveitis in human patients. Naturally occurring uveitis in horses gives us an opportunity to examine tissues during active ocular inflammation. We examined the pineal gland of a horse that was killed because it had become blind during an episode of uveitis. The clinical history and histopathology of the eyes were consistent with post-leptospiral equine recurrent uveitis. The pineal gland of this horse had significant inflammatory infiltration consisting mainly of lymphocytes with some eosinophils. This observation of pinealitis accompanying equine uveitis supports the animal models of experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis with associated pinealitis and suggests that the pineal gland may be involved in some human uveitides.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8435400/