Introduction
A pannus is the increased occurrence of connective tissue, which is strongly interspersed with vessels. In pannus on the eye, this additional tissue overgrows the cornea and leads to corneal opacity. Depending on the stage of the disease, either antibiotic therapy is sufficient or, in the worst case, a corneal transplant must be performed.
Definition
A pannus is an excessive formation of connective tissue caused by an excess reaction of the body to inflammation. This connective tissue is strongly interspersed with vessels and can either be formed in the eye, for example through conjunctivitis, or in joints in the context of joint inflammation. The pannus on the eye is characterized by a layer of connective tissue that grows into the normally vascularized cornea.
Causes
A pannus of the eye can result from a protracted conjunctivitis. The inflammation causes defense mechanisms of the body, which can manifest themselves in the increased formation of connective tissue with blood vessels to repair a tissue defect in the conjunctiva. If this tissue proliferation is excessive, the result is pannus on the eye, which grows into the cornea.
A so-called trachoma can also be a possible cause of pannus. A trachoma is an inflammation of the eye caused by bacteria of the chlamydia group. At first it is similar to a severe conjunctivitis, which has a chronic course.
It increasingly leads to scarring of the conjunctiva and clouding of the cornea. Depending on its severity, trachoma can lead to blindness in the worst case. Nowadays, the occurrence of trachoma is very rare and usually only found in developing countries due to lack of hygiene. In most cases, the disease occurs in early childhood.
Symptoms
The main symptom of pannus of the eye is a clouding of the cornea. This can be explained by the ingrowing connective tissue and the blood vessels through the cornea. First, however, the early symptom is a foreign body sensation in the eye.
The pannus in trachoma is accompanied by the symptoms of conjunctivitis, i.e. a strongly reddened conjunctiva, and a foreign body sensation in the eye. Gradually, blood vessels grow from the conjunctiva into the cornea. This makes the cornea appear cloudy.
There is also scarring of the conjunctiva. Corneal opacity impairs vision and makes it possible to see “as through a veil”. Complete clouding, including corneal scars, leads to blindness. You can read more information on this topic here: Corneal clouding
