Implant Found to be Effective for Treating Eye Disease

An implant that releases the medication dexamethasone within the eye appears to be safe and effective for the treatment of a type of eye disease namely uveitis (swelling and inflammation in the eye's middle layer), according to a report.

"Uveitis refers to a group of intraocular inflammatory diseases that cause 10 percent to 15 percent of blindness in the developed world," the authors write as background information in the article. "Despite advances in immunosuppressive treatments, corticosteroids remain the mainstay of therapy." However, some patients cannot tolerate or do not respond to systemic corticosteroids, in part because the medications do not cross the blood-retinal barrier. Eye drops containing corticosteroids are effective only for anterior uveitis, closer to the front of the eye. Injections of corticosteroids directly into the eye have been effective in forms of intermediate or posterior uveitis, but require repeated treatments every two to three months and are associated with cataracts and other adverse effects.

To address these issues, an intravitreal (within the vitreous fluid of the eye), bioerodible, sustained-release implant has been developed to deliver a glucocorticoid medication, dexamethasone, to the back of the eye chamber. Careen Lowder, M.D., Ph.D., of the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute, and colleagues in the Ozurdex HURON Study Group conducted a 26-week randomized controlled trial involving 229 patients with intermediate or posterior uveitis. A total of 77 patients received an implant with a 0.7-milligram dose of dexamethasone, 76 received an implant with a 0.35-milligram dose and 76 underwent a sham procedure which followed the same protocol but used a needleless applicator.

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