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  Discussion on Glaucoma or something else?
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Posted on Monday, Feb 11, 2002 - 9:24 pm:

I have an 11 year old thoroughbred (short racing career approximately 8 years ago)who has had a cloudy cornea for approximately one year. There does not appear to be any pain or tearing, but at times there is slight swelling. He also has sight in the affected eye. The cloudiness can be eliminated with daily treatment of prednisone (sp?), but when it is discontinued, the cloudiness returns. Blood tests are all normal. I would like to find out what the problem is and how it can be treated by something other than a steroid. Or should I be glad that it can be controlled, and just live with it? (It is a mystery to my vet also)

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 12, 2002 - 8:04 am:

Hello Vicki,
I think you are likely to be dealing with recurrent uveitis (RU) though glaucoma is possible as either a primary condition or secondary to RU. To rule it our requires a vet. opthamologist familiar with dealing with horses. For alternative treatments to RU see the article in the Eye Disease section on RU.
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 12, 2002 - 12:42 pm:

I agree with the vet opthamologist point of view. I had an ex-racehorse that had an eye with infections that would not resolve except with aggressive steroid treatment. His eye clouded for months on end also. I had an opthamologist look at his eye and he said that he did not have RU. It turned out that he had a nerve injury to the eye due to something being thrown up off the track. Get the opthamologist out and find out for sure. I am not saying this is what your horse has but it sounds suspiciously similar.

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 12, 2002 - 5:34 pm:

Hello DrC,
I am trying to put your post together into something I understand. Did the Opth. say that there was trauma to the eye and which resulted in uveitis complicated by retinal damage? What did you do that resolved the problem?
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 13, 2002 - 9:25 pm:

Dr C, What you have described sounds very similar to what we are experiencing. We have a minor problem in that there is no vet opthamologist anywhere in our area. Would you be willing to share the name of the vet opth that you worked with? Perhaps my vet could have a telephone discussion with him/her. I also would be interested in how your situation was finally resolved.

Posted on Thursday, Feb 14, 2002 - 6:08 am:

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Vicki, it is my mission in life to correct every internet post on this board that says something like, "sounds like what I have". Almost always this is said about the most general of symptoms that always has a long list of possible causes, and so it is here in this case. Cloudy eyes in horses that are temporarily responsive to corticosteroids could fill up a book of possible causes though admittedly 2/3rds of the book would be taken up with different manifestations of RU.

DrC's point, and correct me if I am wrong, is that there are a lot of possibilities that require an examination to differentiate and if you suspect something odd is going on get an expert to see what they see. It is unlikely anyone is going to be able to help you diagnostically, except in the most general of terms, until they examined the horse. If you and your vet still believe that RU is likely consider the alternative treatments in the article I referenced above.
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Feb 14, 2002 - 8:02 am:

DrO, I understand your concern with generalizations and apologize. I may have been overly enthusiastic since this was the first I have heard where pain and blindness were not mentioned, although the condition continued over a span of time. (However, we still don't know the treatment or final outcome) This horse is not experiencing any noticeable pain, and can see out of the affected eye. Right now it appears that the only choice we have is to transport him to a qualified vet. opth. somewhere to have a qualified diagnosis.

Posted on Thursday, Feb 14, 2002 - 1:13 pm:

DrO, my horse had chronic ulcers on his cornea that resulted in a cloudy appearance. These would take months to clear. The vet opth that saw him said he did not have uveitis but had nerve damage to the eye. So that when he ulcerated his cornea he didn't feel it and the eye did not tear as it should do. The first thing we would notice about the eye was that it would start to look cloudy. There was no retinal damage or compromises in his vision. I can't off hand remember the treatment he was given (I'm at work and the info is at home) so I will get back to you on that one.

Vicki I absolutely agree with DrO get the right person out for the eye. The opth I used arrived in a chauffered limosine not because he is excessively priced but because he travels a lot and doesn't want to deal with the traffic (he had just come from Vermont). I don't know if he just does the east coast or other areas. My vet was there at the time the opth was as well.

Posted on Thursday, Feb 14, 2002 - 2:14 pm:

Hi Carol,
I'm in NH and haven't been able to get an Opth to look at my pony. The pony has uveitis and glaucoma. Would you mind e-mailing me this Dr.'s name and how I could get a hold of him-or if he ever comes this far?
Thanks,Kim

Posted on Friday, Feb 15, 2002 - 1:30 pm:

Of course I will email you the name.
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