title: Rituximab ameliorated severe hearing loss in Cogan's syndrome: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody inducing depletion of B lymphocytes and presently approved for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis. Here is the first report of the use of this drug in a case of Cogan's syndrome (CS).
  
  
  METHODS
  a 25-year-old Italian woman was referred with conjunctival hyperaemia, interstitial keratitis, moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss accompanied by tinnitus, dizziness, nausea and vertigo, poorly responsive to oral and topical steroidal therapy. Diagnosis of typical CS was made. The administration of a combined immunosuppressive treatment resolved ocular inflammation, dizziness, nausea, and vertigo but gave little results in controlling progressive hearing loss. A noticeable improvement in hearing function was documented by pure tone audiometry after infusion of Rituximab.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  in CS, hearing function is often the most difficult parameter to control with therapy. A positive effect of Rituximab on was observed in our case. The drug also allowed to significantly reduce the number of adjuvant immunosuppressive medications.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ophthalmology, University of Parma - Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Jelka G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Orsoni
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Laganà
authors.forename: Pierangela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rubino
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zavota
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bacciu
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mora
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D055952:Cogan Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D000069283:Rituximab
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000069283:Rituximab