Jennifer Thorne, the Cross Family Professor of Ophthalmology and chief of the Division of Ocular Immunology at Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine, recently traveled the globe to connect with others in the field of ocular immunology who are seeking to better understand uveitic syndromes and their treatments.

One of the more common groups of ocular inflammatory diseases is the uveitides, which encompass diseases that cause inflammation inside the eye. Although there are dozens of uveitic syndromes, many are rare, and Thorne’s work involves identifying the best diagnostics and treatment approaches for these often hard-to-diagnose diseases.

Throughout November, Thorne lectured at meetings in Southeast Asia and England, where she shared her expertise.

Her first stop was Bangkok, Thailand, for the meeting of the Indo-China Ocular Inflammation/Infection Study Group. There, as part of an all-day uveitis teaching session, Thorne presented on “Updates in Systemic Treatments: Biologics” for uveitis. Since new biologics are constantly coming down the pipeline, she says treatment options are always evolving.

From Thailand, Thorne traveled to Singapore for Inflammatio 2024, a meeting of the International Uveitis Study Group held at the Singapore Eye Research Institute. This theme-based meeting focused on the challenges of defining and diagnosing types of posterior uveitis and included a two-day course on imaging in uveitis. The meeting expanded on the work of the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature group to classify uveitis syndromes and define phenotypes, in particular by looking at multimodal imaging as classification criteria.

Thorne says this effort is aimed at getting away from what used to be a blanket term called white dot syndrome, and instead moving toward a consensus on criteria for specific subtypes. “The better able you are to define the disease, the better you can evaluate outcomes,” says Thorne, adding that this has implications for everything from treatment approaches to clinical trials.

Following Inflammatio 2024, Thorne went on to lecture at the Royal Society of Medicine in London for Moorfields Cornea Focus 2024. The hybrid meeting included a large virtual global audience and was followed by a dinner at the Houses of Parliament.

In London, Thorne presented on “The Medical Treatment of Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid: Ophthalmology Perspective.” Mucous membrane pemphigoid is a rare chronic autoimmune disorder that causes blistering lesions affecting the mucous membranes of the body, including, potentially, the eyes. It is a particularly challenging condition to diagnose and treat. “This is a multidisciplinary disease,” says Thorne. “It’s rare and complex, and this meeting was a chance to identify controversies, explore new insights on treatment and particularly the use of biologics, and define the best diagnostic and treatment approaches to care for these patients.”