title: Current and future trends in the use of immunosuppressive agents in patients with uveitis.
abstract: Therapeutic trials for uveitis are seldom performed because of the relative rarity of the disease and its heterogeneity. Promising new approaches to therapy include cytokine or cytokine receptor inhibition; cytokine addition (alpha-interferon or interleukin-10); novel anti-metabolites; combination therapies; intravenous immunoglobulin; intravitreally inserted corticosteroid implants; and oral tolerance. Additional modalities or targets that deserve further testing include T-cell subsets, adhesion molecules, accessory molecules in antigen presentation, novel inflammatory mediators, inducers of apoptosis, photodynamic therapy, and neuroprotective agents.
authors.affiliation: Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, USA, and Casey Eye Institute, Portland, Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011379:Prognosis; D014605:Uveitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10