The course and outcomes of uveitis, including uveitis associated with juvenile arthritis, are variable; some children will have ongoing lingering disease activity and others can go into long-term control (remission).  At the present time we can make decisions about treatments based on experiences from large groups of patients with similar conditions.  However, the conclusions we make about the diseases and the treatments from studying the group as a whole do not always precisely apply to individual patients within the group, there is considerable variability in how individual patients will respond to treatment.

Now, with new knowledge and technologies, we are beginning to aim for personalized approaches to therapy so that we can select therapies based on the individual’s genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors.  We think this personalized approach will result in more uniform and effective responses to therapy.  In general, older data suggests that about 1/3 of patients with uveitis associated with juvenile arthritis  will have mild or no active disease long term, 1/3 may continue to have mild to moderate disease, and 1/3 will have substantial long term visual impairment.  However, more recently, with earlier diagnosis, more rigorous follow up and monitoring of patients, and dramatically improved treatments, we anticipate the long-term outcomes will greatly improve.