title: Autoimmune ocular disorders.
abstract: The ability of orally presented antigen to induce a state of tolerance has been recognised for many years. The use of this immunological phenomenon of oral tolerance to treat autoimmune diseases is a more recent development in the field of mucosal immunology. Ocular autoimmunity is especially intriguing because of the unique immunological characteristics of the eye. On the basis of laboratory data, the ;feeding' of ocular antigens has been proposed as a safe and efficacious therapy for uveitis. Two patients with uveitis have been successfully treated with oral administration of retinal S-antigen, and a larger phase I/II trial of oral tolerance as a treatment for uveitis is currently being completed at the National Eye Institute.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Whitcup
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Nussenblatt