title: Cyclosporine in the treatment of nonmicrobial inflammatory ophthalmic disease.
abstract: Eighteen patients with severe, progressive nonmicrobial inflammatory ophthalmic disease (including five with intermediate uveitis, four with sympathetic ophthalmia and three with serpiginous choroiditis) that had not responded to conventional therapy were treated with cyclosporine. Three of the four patients with sympathetic ophthalmia responded quickly and maximally, and the fourth showed partial improvement. One patient, with several corneal graft failures in the right eye, started cyclosporine therapy after undergoing left corneal transplantation; at the last follow-up visit the graft had been clear for almost 3 years. The response was inconsistent in patients with other types of eye disease. In general, the drug was well tolerated; however, two patients stopped treatment because of unpleasant side effects. No serious or irreversible complications developed. The results suggest that cyclosporine therapy is useful in the treatment of sympathetic ophthalmia and in high-risk corneal transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leznoff
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shea
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Binkley
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Rootman
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rabinovitch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002833:Choroiditis / Q000188:drug therapy; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009879:Ophthalmia, Sympathetic / Q000188:drug therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D015867:Uveitis, Intermediate / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D016572:Cyclosporine