Study: Infliximab may benefit patients with refractory ocular inflammation

Patients with noninfectious ocular inflammatory disease that does not respond to traditional therapies may benefit from treatment with infliximab, a retrospective study suggests. The drug controlled ocular inflammation in most patients with a low incidence of adverse effects, the study authors noted.

Lucia Sobrin, MD, and colleagues reviewed medical records of 27 patients who had noninfectious ocular inflammatory disease refractory to traditional immunomodulatory therapy. Each patient received a 5 mg/kg dose of Remicade (infliximab, Centocor) administered at 2- to 8-week intervals.

The researchers found that the initial course of infliximab treatment caused a sustained improvement in ocular inflammation in 21 of the 27 patients. At 12 months, the cumulative incidence of inflammation had resolved by more than 90%, the authors reported.

Also, 16 patients reduced or ceased use of other concomitant immunomodulatory therapy medications, and four patients stopped use of all other immunomodulatory therapies altogether. In addition, "three patients with scleritis were eventually able to remain inflammation-free while not taking any medication," they said.

Also at 12 months follow-up, visual acuity had improved at least two lines in 56% of left eyes and 65% of right eyes, and only one patient had to stop treatment due to an adverse event, the authors noted.

The study is published in the July issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.