Low-dose Cyclosporin a in uveitis a long-term follow-up

Abstract

Seventy patients suffering from bilateral endogenous chronic uveitis or ocular Behcet's disease have been treated with 5 mg/kg/day Cyclosporin A. All patients were followed at regular intervals for up to eight years. In this group of patients, we observed that CsA is an effective drug for the treatment of intraocular inflammation. Patients have needed continuous treatment with CsA for an average period of 31 months. Exacerbations of the inflammatory processes have been observed in 95% of the patients on initial attempts to lower the CsA dosage. These exacerbations were controlled either by local treatment or a combination of low-dose systemic corticosteroids. Elevation of the serum creatinine was initially observed in all patients when under the higher doses of CsA. However, only 15 patients (21.4%) had levels which were higher than the upper normal limit. Elevation of the bilirubin level of 50% or more above baseline was observed in 45 patients (64.3%) but only 11 patients (15.7%) showed levels which were above the upper normal limit. During this period of follow-up, cure was achieved in 25 patients and no exacerbations were observed up to five years after discontinuation of treatment.