1/2. tacrolimus (FK506) in the treatment of posterior uveitis refractory to cyclosporine.OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and side effects of tacrolimus, a potent immunosuppressive macrolide antibiotic, in the treatment of sight-threatening uveitis. DESIGN: A clinical study of tacrolimus in patients who required systemic immunosuppression for control of uveitis, but were refractory to cyclosporine. PARTICIPANTS: Six patients with uveitis were treated: three had Behcet disease, one had microscopic polyangiitis, one had pars planitis, and one had idiopathic retinal vasculitis. INTERVENTION: patients with sight-threatening uveitis refractory to cyclosporine were treated with tacrolimus. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intraocular inflammation, visual acuity (VA), neovascularization. Adverse effects of tacrolimus were documented. RESULTS: The posterior uveitis remained controlled in all patients while they were taking tacrolimus. Five of the six patients showed improvement, defined as improvement of two or more lines of Snellen acuity or a decrease in the binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy score (P < 0.05, Sign test). One patient with Behcet disease showed a marked improvement in best-corrected VA from 1/60 to 6/24. Two patients with Behcet disease showed a modest improvement in VA in the affected eye and had no disease activity in the other eye. The patient with microscopic polyangiitis was symptomatically improved, and there was no progression of the posterior uveitis. The patient with pars planitis had an improvement in VA from 6/18 to 6/9. The patient with retinal vasculitis showed partial regression of neovascularization on tacrolimus. Side effects were less troublesome than with cyclosporine. CONCLUSIONS: tacrolimus (FK506) has a useful role as an immunosuppressive agent for the treatment of sight-threatening uveitis in patients who did not respond to cyclosporine either because of lack of therapeutic effect or unacceptable adverse effects.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = neovascularization (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/2. Infliximab for the treatment of posterior uveitis with retinal neovascularization in Behcet disease.PURPOSE: To report a case of posterior uveitis with retinal neovascularization in a patient with Behcet disease treated with infliximab. methods: A 50-year-old man with a history of recurrent relapses of ocular inflammation despite immunosuppressive therapy developed retinal neovascularization near the optic disk. The patient was treated with infliximab and followed up for 12 months. RESULTS: retinal neovascularization regressed 8 months after the first anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) treatment and with six infusions of infliximab. The ocular inflammation resolved almost completely. CONCLUSIONS: The result suggests that anti-TNF therapy may be effective in the treatment of retinal neovascularization caused by panuveitis in Behcet disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 71.775221324678keywords = retinal neovascularization, neovascularization (Clic here for more details about this article) |