FRIDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Dexamethasone implant improves intraocular inflammation and visual acuity in eyes with noninfectious uveitis, according to a study published online Jan. 10 in the Archives of Ophthalmology.
Careen Lowder, M.D., from the Cole Eye Institute in Cleveland, and colleagues investigated the effect of different doses of a dexamethasone intravitreal implant (DEX implant) on patients with noninfectious intermediate or posterior uveitis in a 26-week trial. A total of 229 eyes were included in the study and were randomized to 0.7 mg DEX implant (77 patients), 0.35 mg DEX implant (76 patients), or a control sham procedure (76 patients).
The investigators found that, in patients who were given the 0.7 mg DEX implant, 47 percent of eyes had a vitreous haze score of zero at week eight, compared with 36 percent in those treated with the 0.35 mg DEX implant and 12 percent of control eyes. This benefit lasted through the 26-week trial. Improved visual acuity was seen in significantly more eyes that had DEX implants (either dose) compared with controls procedures.
"The present study demonstrated that in patients with noninfectious intermediate or posterior uveitis, a single dose of the DEX implant was well tolerated and produced significant improvements in intraocular inflammation and visual acuity that persisted for six months," the authors write.
Several of the study authors disclosed financial relationships with the pharmaceutical industry.
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