Uveitis

Uveitis is an inflammation of the eye’s middle layer, which supplies blood to the retina. A “blood-shot” eye, caused by an irritant or bacteria, is one of its transient symptoms, but a more serious condition can arise from autoimmunity and result in blindness. To treat a female patient with serious vision impairment at the University of Iowa Hospital, researchers drew fluid from the eye and compared its proteomic profile to that of normal eyes. Indeed, they found an abnormal array of antibodies to self, and consequently implanted a device that continuously releases steroids. The condition normalized, and the protocol illustrates how personalized proteomics might be used more widely in medicine. MORE

Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org