Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been taken to hospital in Milan due to an eye inflammation that doctors say will force him to stay at home.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been taken to hospital in Milan due to an eye inflammation that doctors say will force him to stay at home for a week and miss the next hearing of his underage sex trial, news reports said.

The conservative leader is suffering from uveitis, an eye inflammation that is treated with eye drops and others drugs, his personal doctor Alberto Zangrillo told the Adnkronos news agency.

Lawyers defending Berlusconi against charges of abuse of power said on the margins of a trial hearing that the 76-year-old had been admitted to the San Raffaele hospital in Milan.

Last month, the politician had to cancel his final campaign rally ahead of the February general elections due to eye trouble.

Berlusconi "needs at least seven days of absolute rest with no exposure to light," Alberto Zangrillo told Adnkronos.

Berlusconi had already cancelled his Friday engagements, including talks with outgoing premier Mario Monti on an upcoming European Union summit and a meeting of his People of Freedom party.