View clinical trials related to Uveitis.
Filter by:Current treatment modalities for uveitis associated with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis have not been beneficial in the juvenile population. A new approach for treating patients with presumed autoimmune disorders is oral tolerance therapy. Chicken type II collagen (Colloral) is being developed as an oral tolerance therapy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. This open label pilot study will describe the safety of chicken type II collagen added to current anti-inflammatory medications as treatment for patients with uveitis associated with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The primary ophthalmic outcomes of this study will be a change from baseline in the number of anterior chamber cells and the number and dosage of anti-inflammatory medications. Secondary outcomes for JRA will include change in physician's global assessment, parent/patient assessment of overall well-being, functional assessment, number of joints with active arthritis, number of joints with limited range of motion, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Secondary outcomes for uveitis will include change in visual acuity, vitreous haze, and anterior chamber flare.
Uveitis refers to intraocular inflammatory diseases that are an important cause of visual loss. Standard systemic immunosuppressive medications for uveitis can cause significant adverse effects. Consequently, an effective treatment with a safer side effect profile is highly desirable. This pilot study has permitted enrollment of up to 12 adults with non-infectious intermediate or posterior uveitis who require treatments to maintain visual function. This extended protocol began with an evaluation of the safety and potential efficacy of intravenous (IV) daclizumab treatments for uveitis while reducing or eliminating standard medications commensurate with the standard of care. As subcutaneous (SC) daclizumab treatments become available, eligible participants will be offered continuing daclizumab treatments using the new SC formulation, though they may elect to remain on the IV treatments. If the therapeutic benefit is sustained using the SC formulation, maintenance therapy will continue as clinically indicated. Participants who repeatedly fail the SC therapy will be permitted to revert to the IV daclizumab regimen they previously used, or may exit the study as treatment failures. SC treatments begin with a short SC induction at 2 mg/kg followed by 1 mg/kg treatments on a 4-week schedule as the protocol originally specified. Participants will be monitored routinely when each dose is received and additionally will participate in pharmacokinetic studies to monitor SC formulation bioavailability. Daclizumab is a humanized anti-Tac monoclonal antibody (HAT, Zenapax) that interferes with inflammatory processes by its involvement with the interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R). During the first 5 years of this study, only an IV product was available. The SC formulation is now available containing the same daclizumab drug product. Preliminary studies indicate that the SC formulation is well tolerated by normal control subjects and other autoimmune disease patients at repeated doses up to 2 mg/kg. The primary objectives are to examine the safety and potential efficacy of IV and later, SC daclizumab, while continuing to reduce other immunosuppressive medications commensurate with the standard of care. Primary safety outcomes are the discontinuation of study therapy due to reduced vision or the occurrence of adverse events. Secondary outcome measures include visual acuity and the grading of immunosuppressive medications, anterior chamber and vitreous cells, and vitreous haze.
The purpose of this investigation is to better understand the inflammatory process that occurs in uveitis (eye inflammation) through study of eye tissues. Patients with uveitis sometimes develop cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye) or clouding of the vitreous-the gel-like material behind the lens-that can impair eyesight. Those who require cataract surgery or vitrectomy are eligible for this study. Samples of eye tissue and fluid normally removed during standard surgical procedures for these conditions will be given to researchers instead of discarded, as is usually done. Before surgery, patients will undergo routine preoperative tests, including chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, blood tests and urinalysis. They will also have an eye examination and photographs taken of the retina. Other tests that may be performed include fluorescein angiography to evaluate the blood vessels of the retina; ultrasound to examine the back of the eye; and a gallium scan to evaluate inflammation. Immune cells in the blood and eye tissue will be compared and categorized by disease. The eye fluid will be examined for substances involved in the inflammatory process. These studies may provide information that will lead to improved methods of diagnosis and treatment.