Adalimumab for Ocular Inflammation

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To evaluate adalimumab as an immunomodulatory treatment for non-infectious ocular inflammatory diseases.

Methods: Characteristics of patients treated with adalimumab were abstracted in a standardized chart review. Main outcomes measured were control of inflammation, corticosteroid-sparing effect, and visual acuity.

Results: In total, 32 patients with ocular inflammation were treated with adalimumab. The most common ophthalmic diagnoses were anterior uveitis, occurring in 15 patients (47%), and scleritis, occurring in 9 patients (28%). At 6 months of therapy, among 15 eyes with active inflammation, 7 (47%) became completely inactive, and oral prednisone was reduced to ≤10 mg/day in 2 of 4 patients (50%). On average, visual acuity decreased by 0.13 lines during the first 6 months of treatment. Adalimumab was discontinued because of lack of effectiveness in four patients within 6 months.

Conclusions: Adalimumab was moderately effective in controlling inflammation in a group of highly pre-treated cases of ocular inflammatory disease.

Keywords:

• Adalimumab
• Humira
• ocular inflammatory disease
• scleritis
• TNF-α antibody
• uveitis

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Comment on Durrani et al.’s “Adalimumab for Ocular Inflammation”

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

The author(s) have made the following disclosure(s): John H. Kempen: (consultant) Lux Biosciences, (consultant) Allergan, (consultant) Alcon, (consultant) Can-Fite, (consultant) Clearside, (consultant) Sanofi-Pasteur, (consultant) Xoma; James Rosenbaum: (equity owner) Amgen, (consultant) Abbott, (consultant), ESBATech, (consultant) Lux Biosciences, (consultant) Centocor, (consultant) Genentech; Douglas A. Jabs: (consultant) Roche; (consultant) Genzyme Corporation; (consultant) Novartis; (consultant) Allergan; (consultant) Glaxo Smith Kline; (consultant) Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation; (consultant) The Emmes Corporation; (consultant) The Johns Hopkins Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology; C. Stephen Foster: (consultant) Aldeyra Therapeutics, (consultant) Bausch & Lomb Surgical, (consultant) Eyegate Pharma, (consultant) Novartis, (consultant) pSivida, and (consultant) Xoma.

Funding

This study was supported primarily by National Eye Institute Grant EY014943 (JHK), and the Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation (Cambridge, MA). Additional support was provided by National Eye Institute Grant P30 EY001583, Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB, New York, NY), and the Paul and Evanina Mackall Foundation (New York, NY) provided additional support. JHK was an RPB James S. Adams Special Scholar Award recipient. JTR and DAJ were Research to Prevent Blindness Senior Scientific Investigator Award recipients during the course of the study. EBS receives support from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. JET was an RPB Harrington Special Scholar Award recipient. GAL-C was previously supported by, and RBN continues to be supported by, intramural funds of the National Eye Institute. None of the sponsors had any role in the design and conduct of the report; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or in the preparation, review, and approval of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported primarily by National Eye Institute Grant EY014943 (JHK), and the Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation (Cambridge, MA). Additional support was provided by National Eye Institute Grant P30 EY001583, Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB, New York, NY), and the Paul and Evanina Mackall Foundation (New York, NY) provided additional support. JHK was an RPB James S. Adams Special Scholar Award recipient. JTR and DAJ were Research to Prevent Blindness Senior Scientific Investigator Award recipients during the course of the study. EBS receives support from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. JET was an RPB Harrington Special Scholar Award recipient. GAL-C was previously supported by, and RBN continues to be supported by, intramural funds of the National Eye Institute. None of the sponsors had any role in the design and conduct of the report; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or in the preparation, review, and approval of this manuscript.