The use of infliximab in ocular inflammation

¹ Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Eire

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: camprendiville{at}yahoo.ca.

Accepted 1 March 2007

	Abstract

Introduction: Experience with anti TNF medications in ophthalmology has been mainly in the treatment of resistant uveitis and scleritis. There have been a few case reports1 and one case series13 detailing the use of Infliximab in the treatment of orbital inflammatory disease. However there is still limited experience with these agents in a variety of orbital inflammatory conditions. We describe successful suppression of inflammation with Infliximab in the Idiopathic orbital inflammation, thyroid associated orbital inflammation and chronic relapsing inflammatory optic neuropathy.

Methods: This is a retrospective observational case series of five cases of orbital and ocular inflammation.

Results: We describe effects of Infliximab in the treatment of 3 cases of orbital inflammation and 2 cases of CRION all of which were unresponsive to alternative immune modulators. The patients received relief of symptoms and signs of inflammation in all 5 cases. However, this relief was not absolute as symptoms returned around week 5 post inflammation.

Conclusion: This report highlights the expanding role of the biological agents in ophthalmology. Although, not the answer in treatment, they offer a valuable alternative to steroids in cases of refractory inflammation.