title: Fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal sustained release device--a new addition to the armamentarium of uveitic management.
abstract: Uveitis is a potentially sight-threatening inflammatory eye disease caused by multiple infectious and non-infectious etiologies for which the standard of care involves corticosteroids or various immunomodulary therapy (IMT) drugs. These available treatments, although effective, may cause significant morbidity and sometimes mortality in uveitis patients due to their toxic side-effects and the necessity of long-term therapy to prevent recurrences. In order to avoid the systemic toxicity ofcorticosteroids and IMT or the repeated injections of local steroids necessary to control ocular inflammation, and to prevent development of cumulative damage resulting from recurrent episodes of inflammation, researchers have developed a number of local corticosteroid sustained-release devices that can be implanted directly into the vitreous of the eye, at the site of the inflammatory disease. Preliminary studies of such a device, the fluocinolone acetonide (Retisert) implant, have shown significant reductions in the number of inflammatory episodes and decreased reliance on systemic corticosteroids or other IMT. This review explores the current research evaluating the fluocinolone sustained-release intravitreal implant in the treatment of posterior uveitis and the implications for its future use on a wider scale.
authors.affiliation: Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Brumm
authors.forename: Quan Dong
authors.initials: QD
authors.lastname: Nguyen
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000639:trends; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D005446:Fluocinolone Acetonide / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000639:trends*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D014605:Uveitis / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005446:Fluocinolone Acetonide