Birdshot Uveitis Society

26/08/2026

This is an update from the Uveitis Study Group for all patients in the UK. They are the organisation that have been organising webinars which all members of this group can access and which are available from time to time. I have been asked to pass this information on to. As you can see this will be useful to help try and get better treatments for uveitis available to all people in the UK who need them".

The Uveitis CSG is launching a project, open to all Patients and parents of patients if a minor being treated for uveitis across the UK to reach consensus on treatment with biologics in eye inflammatory disease. We want the final pathway to reflect our shared views.

It runs as a Delphi: There is an initial survey, followed by a moderated online meeting. We are also including a specific treating clinician consensus component.

Nationally agreed, evidence-based pathways improve equity of access to medicines — and in a rare disease, where our numbers are small, a shared position carries real weight. We would be very grateful for your response. A registration is essential as we need to know to whom we have sent the survey and require a minimum return to make it methodologically robust so sorry for this extra step.

Ocular Infammatory Diseases Consensus Treatment Pathways- 2 minute Registration to Join (see link below:)

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=w3PSJVGo-0yiOekEj5iWad4gz3VniZ9EkQ2si3NQwNtUQ0dMSFJEVUI0U1U3OUFBNlZVMVZUWE5INi4u&route=shorturlUK

Please do sign up and this will signal we can get in touch with you with the actual survey. The actual survey will not take you more than 10-15 minutes when it comes. "

15/06/2026

We are eager to be in touch with patients who have been on the Meerkat or Sandcat trial for a drug called Vamikibart as we want to hear more about patient experiences with this treatment. Email Birdshot Uveitis Society at [email protected] if you wouldn’t mind telling us more about your experiences. This is so we can help NICE with their evaluation of this new treatment.

30/11/2025

We have been asked to share the following details about a forthcoming webinar by the Uveitis Information Study Group, please register if you are interested in attending this. Annie

The Uveitis Clinical Study Group (UCSG) invites you to attend our webinar for patients, carers and healthcare professionals (flyer attached)

Date & Time: Wednesday, 17th December 2025, 4-5pm
Location: Online - link to be shared in due course
Register via the following link.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbdgSxItCWmilLDjrDvNZgdl2N--6jW6JBhWf_bTlPUZwplw/viewform

‎We highly encourage you to submit your questions in advance via the RSVP link above, or by emailing us on [email protected]

Speaker: Professor Ann Morgan, Rheumatology Consultant, Leeds Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
Chair: Miss Kanchan Bhan, Consultant Ophthalmologist with special interest in Ocular Inflammatory disease, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Join our medical expert-led webinar to learn more about the use of steroids in treating inflammatory eye diseases including uveitis and scleritis.

Who we are
The Uveitis Clinical Study Group (UCSG) is a national group of health professionals, ophthalmologists and scientists working in partnership with patients. Our mission:
Share knowledge about uveitis and scleritis
Support research and trials for better treatments
Enable patients to contribute to research, and meet other people with uveitis and scleritis

Website: https://www.uveitisstudygroup.org

The UCSG invites you to attend our informative webinar for patients, carers and healthcare professionals on the Wednesday, 17th December 2025, 4.00-5.00pm Online link will be emailed to you in due course. Speaker: Professor Ann Morgan, Rheumatology Consultant, Leeds Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)....

17/11/2025

https://birdshot.org.uk/covid19-treatment/

UK Birdies taking steroids and/or immunosuppressants - if you started feeling unwell and were concerned you might have caught COVID-19, would you know what to do first, and then where to go for advice? The BUS website now has information on this topic . Have a look at it now and be prepared.

COVID-19 treatment- how to get advice and any necessary treatment in UK Introduction If you are taking corticosteroids and/or immunosuppressant treatment, you need to know what to do if you live in UK, become unwell and think you may have COVID-19. The instructions on how to get advice and any neces...

05/10/2025

How many people are diagnosed with birdshot each year? Until recently, that question had no clear answer. Now, researchers have used collected data to create what they believe may be the first estimate of new birdshot cases detected in Northern Ireland, England and Wales over the years 2017 to 2019.

The researchers used information obtained from ophthalmologists by the British Ophthalmological Surveillance Unit (BOSU) about the ophthalmologists’ newly-diagnosed birdshot patients. This data documented the patients’ symptoms, signs, tests, treatments and where each patient lived. A year later, BOSU then contacted the ophthalmologists again to follow up these birdshot patients.

With any data collection study, it is inevitable that patient information may be incomplete or may not be recorded at all. However, out of the BOSU information, the researchers were able to use the data from 37 cases of birdshot to produce a picture of each patient and their treatment at diagnosis, and again a year later.

This work was made possible by a small grant award from Fight for Sight and the Birdshot Uveitis Society.

This study provides the first nationwide estimate of the incidence of BSRC in a high-prevalence region. Cases were more common in females, with a broad range of presentation ages. No significant latitudinal effect of incidence was identified. Systemic therapy with steroids and IMT remain the most co...

28/08/2025

Just to highlight that some of Dr Colin Chu’s work is being supported by Birdshot Uveitis Society.

Exciting news coming out of Moorfields Eye Hospital lately...

Dr Colin Chu is one of our many brilliant researchers working to prevent vision loss right now.

His work in metagenomics has already helped a young patient receive a complex diagnosis after years of
confusion. You can support more vital research like Dr Chu’s with a donation today:
https://moorfieldseyecharity.org.uk/support-us/can-you-help-power-an-exciting-new-era-of-eye-health?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organicsocial&utm_campaign=summerappeal3

30/06/2025

In October 2023, the CAPSTONE consortium organized a dedicated Round table entitled “Raising awareness of patient needs and clinician expectations”. Following this event, They have produced an article on the importance of training and promoting a culture of patient involvement in research for PhD students.

Birdshot Uveitis Society (BUS) was represented by myself and you can read ab out the conversations that were had.

Annie Folkard

https://www.capstone-etn.eu/web/viewpoint%20-%2026th%20jun.%202025/1011306087/list1187970184/f1.html
https://www.capstone-etn.eu/data/1751141468CAPSTONE_viewpoint_patientneeds.pdf

23/06/2025

The UNCSG invites you to attend our webinar for patients, carers and healthcare professionals (flyer attached)

Date & Time: Wednesday, 23rd July 2025, 4-5pm
Location: Online - link to be shared in due course
Register via link shown in first comment below.

*Please use this link to also send in questions in advance of the webinar

Speaker: Dr Nicholas Beare (Consultant Ophthalmologist, Liverpool)
Co-Chairs: Ms Srilakshmi Sharma (Consultant Ophthalmologist, Oxford)
Ms Kanchan Bhan (Consultant Ophthalmologist, Leeds)

Uveitis is an inflammatory condition affecting the eye. It can cause redness, pain, blurred vision, and even vision loss if left untreated. Join our medical expert-led webinar to learn more about uveitis, its causes, symptoms, and engage in patient-specialist Q&A.

Who we are
The Uveitis National Clinical Study Group (UNCSG) is a national group of health professionals, Ophthalmologists and scientists working in partnership with patients. Our mission:
Share knowledge about uveitis and scleritis
Support research and trials for better treatments
Enable patients to contribute to research, and meet other people with uveitis and scleritis
Visit our website:

Uveitis National Clinical Study Group (CSG) for clinicians, clinical scientists, statisticians and Ophthalmologists

15/06/2025

We are delighted to be able to bring news about the annual Birdshot clay pigeon shoot and charity auction which took place on Wednesday 4th June at the beautiful Holland & Holland Shooting ground in Northwood. The event which is Birdshot Uveitis Society’s (BUS) largest fundraiser is organised by Alison Sherring, Marketing Director at John F Hunt and John Hall who is also a BUS director and trustee. In total a sum just short of a magnificent £60,000 was raised by the 90 people who took part in the day’s event. We are truly grateful for this fantastic support.

Dr Colin Chu from Moorfields Foundation was the guest speaker. You can read more about his Birdshot BIRD-set research work at: https://colinchulab.com/birdshot-uveitis

BUS members Fiona Gee, Nina Musgrave and Annie Folkard were on hand to help and below you can see photos taken at the start of the day. We were fortunate that the weather remained kind to us, with no rainfall before lunch was being served!

The proceeds of the day will help us to continue to fund the Birdshot ABC study which is collecting DNA scans and data from people who have birdshot over a period of up to ten years. The ABC study involves patients from 6 hospitals across the UK: from Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds, and in London Moorfields and Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. On the strength of this continued fundraising success we are able to extend the study for a further three years until 2028. The target number of patients recruited has now reached 190 and we hope to increase this to 300 in the coming years.

01/06/2025

Early detection key to improving treatment of uveitis, a leading cause globally of vision loss.

New treatment guidance has been developed to help doctors tackle uveitis — one of the leading causes of vision loss. The new clinical guidance, by a team at the University of Bristol, aims to help thousands of sufferers keep this painful eye condition at bay. The study is published in JAMA on 28 May.

Typically affecting adults between 20 and 50 years old. The condition, which causes inflammation inside the eye, is responsible for up to 10% of vision loss worldwide. Early
detection and treatment is critical for patient recovery. Despite its impact, this inflammatory disease remains largely unrecognised by the general public and is sometimes overlooked within the wider medical community. A new comprehensive review sheds light on the condition’s causes, symptoms, and the latest advances in treatment, with an urgent call for earlier diagnosis and intervention.

The research, by ophthalmologists in the Bristol Medical School, highlights the pressing need for better awareness of uveitis.

A call for earlier diagnosis and better treatment Dr Panayiotis Maghsoudlou, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Ophthalmology in the Bristol Medical School: Translational Health Sciences (THS) and the study’s lead author, emphasised the dangers of late diagnosis: “Uveitis is often detected too late, by which point
irreversible damage may already have occurred. It is vital that people experiencing persistent eye pain, redness, sensitivity to light, new floaters, blurred vision, or sudden changes in sight seek urgent medical attention. Early intervention can significantly improve outcomes and, in many cases, prevent permanent sight loss.”

“Diagnosing and treating uveitis is challenging due to the varying presentation of multiple subtypes, each with distinct underlying causes and responses to treatment. This variability complicates both early recognition and the selection of appropriate treatment
strategies, as different forms of the disease require tailored approaches.”

To tackle this, the researchers developed new clinical guidance to help doctors diagnose and treat uveitis more effectively. The team conducted an extensive review of 2,900 published studies on uveitis, to evaluate the most effective diagnosis and course of
treatment.

To read the paper in full go to:

This narrative review summarizes current evidence on the pathophysiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of uveitis in adults.