Dr. Vinita Rao

Senior Consultant, Department of Uvea, Sankara Nethralya

2 articles

Dr. Vinita Rao is a senior consultant in the Department of Uveitis at Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, India. She has presented papers at national and international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. Her fields of interest include uveitis and cataract.

  1. Articles 2 Apr 2021 49 min read

    Viral Uveitis

    Viral uveitis has myriad presentations. They may present as anterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, acute retinal necrosis (ARN), progressive outer retinal necrosis (PORN) and neuroretinitis. The causative viruses mainly include herpes group of viruses and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Other DNA viruses which cause uveitis are poxviruses, adenoviruses especially those that produce epidemic keratoconjunctivitis and pharyngoconjunctival fever. RNA viruses isolated are influenza virus, mumps virus, measles virus, rubella virus, rift valley fever virus and Newcastle virus. Here we have discussed all the different types of viral uveitis except opportunistic viral infections in HIV. ANTERIOR UVEITIS Viral anterior uveitis is caused mainly by herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and 2, varicella zoster virus (VZV), cytomegalovirus virus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus (HHV) type 6, 7 and 8 (1-3). Herpes literally means ‘to crawl’ from the Greek word ‘herpein’. Herpes

    Dr. Vinita Rao · Dr. Gunjan Deshpande
  2. Articles 1 Apr 2021 36 min read

    Viral Uveitis: Ready reckoner for the Postgraduates

    Viral ocular infections can cause sight-threatening diseases in humans either as an isolated ocular infection or as a part of systemic illness. Although many viruses may naturally be harbored in human beings, the common ones causing ocular infections include herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV). They may remain dormant for several years with periodic asymptomatic virus shedding in immunocompetent individuals. However, in situations where the immunity is reduced due to age or, comorbidities, the symptomatic disease can occur. Ocular damage is caused by the direct cellular damage by the virus itself or the inflammatory response to the infection. Virus-specific T lymphocytes as well as humoral immunity with specific antibodies help to control the acute infection. Here we look at anterior and posterior viral uveitis in two separate sections and the common causative viruses. Viral Anterior Uveitis ( VAU) Introduction Anterior uveitis (AU) is th

    Dr. Vinita Rao · Dr. Gazal Patnaik