Active clinical trials for "Uveitis"

Study efficacy of everolimus on course of uveitis: obtain quiescence of inflammation after start of treatment duration to obtain quiescence of inflammation number of patients with quiescence of inflammation

Background: Uveitis is an inflammatory condition in which the patient's own immune system attacks the eye, causing eye inflammation and vision loss. Patients with uveitis may be treated with immunosuppressive medications to reduce the inflammation and prevent vision loss. Sirolimus is an immunosuppressive medication that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent organ rejection following a kidney transplant. Researchers think that sirolimus may affect the part of the immune system that may be an important cause of uveitis, and may decrease the inflammation that causes uveitis. In this study, sirolimus will be given as an injection under the outer layer of your eye. The FDA has permitted the investigational use of sirolimus for this study. Objectives: To determine if subconjunctival injection of sirolimus is safe for treatment of uveitis. To see if sirolimus is an effective treatment for uveitis. Eligibility: Patients 18 years of age and older with active uveitis in one or both eyes. If a patient has uveitis in both eyes, the one in which the inflammation is worse will be treated during the study. The vision in the study eye must be at least 20/400. Patients must have good liver function, and must be willing to practice sun protection measures for 2 weeks following the treatment. Design: Treatment with sirolimus in the study eye: Antibiotic and numbing eye drops will be given before the sirolimus injection. 1 dose of sirolimus will be injected directly into the subconjunctiva (white part of the eye). Antibiotic drops will be given for topical application 3 times per day for 2 days after the injection. Patients will be followed for 16 weeks after sirolimus injection (initial visit and follow-up visits in Weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16). Evaluations during the treatment period and follow-up visits: Physical examination, including vital signs and body weight checks, and pregnancy test for women who can become pregnant. Full medical and ophthalmic history, involving questionnaires and discussion with researchers. Eye examination, dilation, and photography, including measurements of retinal thickness and fluorescent dye tests of blood flow in the eye. Blood and urine tests. Because of the increased risk of skin cancer associated with sirolimus, patients ...

This study will examine the safety and effectiveness of a monoclonal antibody called humanized anti-Tac (HAT, also called daclizumab) to treat children and adolescents with uveitis (chronic inflammatory eye disease) associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Monoclonal antibodies are genetically engineered proteins made in large quantities and directed against a specific target in the body. The HAT antibody is designed to prevent a specific chemical interaction needed for immune cells to produce inflammation. Current treatments for uveitis include steroids and immune-suppressing drugs. These treatments do not always work or they may cause significant side effects. This study will determine whether daclizumab can improve uveitis in children and reduce the need for other medicines. Patients between 6 and 18 years of age with active non-infectious JIA-associated uveitis requiring treatment with anti-inflammatory medications as often as three times a day or more may be eligible for this study. Each candidate is screened with a medical history, physical examination, blood tests, eye examination, and the following specialized tests: Fluorescein angiography to evaluate the eye's blood vessels. A yellow dye is injected into an arm vein and travels to the blood vessels in the eyes. Pictures of the retina are taken using a camera that flashes a blue light into the eye. The pictures show if any dye has leaked from the vessels into the retina, indicating the presence of inflammation. Optical coherence tomography to measure retinal thickness. The eyes are examined through a machine that produces cross-sectional pictures of the retina. These measures are repeated during the study to determine changes, if any, in retinal thickening. Stereoscopic color fundus photography to examine the back of the eye. The pupils are dilated with eye drops to examine and photograph the back of the eye. Upon entering the study, participants receive a 90-minute infusion of daclizumab through a catheter (plastic tube) placed in an arm vein. They return to the clinic after 14 days and again after 28 days for repeat eye examinations, blood tests, and daclizumab infusions. Four weeks after the third infusion, patients are examined for response to treatment. Those who have benefited from daclizumab may continue receiving monthly infusions of the drug for up to one year. A blood test and eye examination are done at the time of each infusion. Patients whose disease has remained active 12 weeks after the first infusion are taken off the study and treated with other medications.

This study will evaluate whether vitamin E can help treat swelling of the macular area of the retina (the back part of the eye) associated with uveitis (inflammatory eye disease). The macula is responsible for sharp vision; swelling in this area is one cause of vision loss in uveitis patients. Macular swelling is also associated with eye problems related to diabetes. In these patients, the swelling is thought to be caused by a substance called vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF. High doses of vitamin E have been used to treat these eye problems in diabetics. This study is a first step to find out if vitamin E will help reduce the retinal swelling in uveitis, which may also be caused by VEGF. Patients 9 years of age and older with macular edema associated with uveitis may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with the following tests and procedures: Medical history and physical examination. This includes measurement of vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, temperature and breathing rate) and examination of the head and neck, heart, lungs, abdomen, arms and legs. Eye examination. This includes measurement of visual acuity using a vision chart, measurement of eye pressure and examination of the pupils and eye movements. The pupils will be dilated with drops to permit examination of the back of the eye. Fluorescein angiography. This test uses a yellow dye (fluorescein) to take photos of the retina. The fluorescein is injected into an arm vein and travels to the blood vessels in the eye. The camera flashes a blue light into the eye and takes pictures of the retina. The pictures show if the dye has leaked from the blood vessels into the retina. Stereoscopic color fundus photography. These are photographs of the back of the eye, taken after the pupils have been dilated with drops. Optical coherence tomography. This test measures the macular swelling. It is used to determine if the swelling is getting worse, better or staying the same. Blood tests. About a tablespoon of blood is drawn to measure inflammation and cell counts and side effects of treatment. Pregnancy test. All women of child-bearing potential are tested for pregnancy. Participants will be randomly assigned to daily treatment with oral high-dose vitamin E (1600 units) or placebo (a pill with no active ingredient) for 4 months. They will be examined at 2 months and 4 months with the same tests performed for screening and will return for a final clinic visit 1 month after treatment has ended.

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.

This study will investigate the safety and effectiveness of the drug Leflunomide to treat uveitis-an inflammation of the eye caused by an immune system abnormality. Leflunomide suppresses immune system activity and has been shown to control autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis (joint inflammation), in animals. It has also improved symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and the Food and Drug Administration has approved it for treating patients with this disease. Eye and joint inflammation may have similar causes, and medicines for arthritis often help patients with eye inflammation. This study will examine whether Leflunomide can help patients with uveitis. Patients with uveitis who are not responding well to steroid treatment and patients who have side effects from other medicines used to treat uveitis (such as cyclosporine, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate or azathioprine) or have refused treatment because of possible side effects of these medicines may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, blood test and eye examination. The eye exam includes a check of vision and eye pressure, examination of the back of the eye (retina) with an ophthalmoscope and the front of the eye with a microscope. They will also undergo a procedure called fluorescein angiography to look at the blood vessels of the eye. A dye called sodium fluorescein is injected into the bloodstream through a vein. After the dye reaches the blood vessels of the eye, photographs are taken of the retina. Study participants will be divided into two groups. One group will take 100 milligrams of Leflunomide once a day for 3 days and then 20 milligrams once a day for 6 months. The other group will take a placebo-a pill that looks like the Leflunomide pill but does not contain the medicine. All patients in both groups will also take prednisone. Patients will have follow-up examinations at weeks 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24 (6 months) of the study. Each follow-up visit will include a repeat of the screening exams and an evaluation of side effects or discomfort from the medicine. Those who do well and want to continue their assigned treatment after 6 months can continue that treatment for another 6 months and will have follow-up exams at months 9 and 12.

Uveitis represents a heterogeneous group of diseases that results from ocular inflammatory reaction involving ocular tissue and vasculature. The inflammation usually causes pain, redness, photophobia and blurred vision. This inflammation, is typically treated with regional or systemic therapy. The regional therapy typically consists of topical corticosteroids or periocular or regional corticosteroids. Regional therapy can lead to a steroid response glaucoma, which is increased intraocular pressure.This pilot study aims to evaluate the possible effectiveness of H.P. Acthar in patients with active ocular inflammatory disease, and currently on treatment for glaucoma or have a history of glaucoma.

The study is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of suprachoroidally administered triamcinolone acetonide, CLS-TA, in subjects with macular edema associated with non-infectious uveitis.

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of abatacept in the treatment of uveitis.

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate whether or not the dexamethasone pellet (Ozurdex®, Allergan, Irvine, CA) can replace oral corticosteroid (e.g. prednisone) in the treatment of active sight-threatening, noninfectious intermediate and/or posterior uveitis in which immunosuppressive drug therapy is indicated. Uveitis is an inflammation inside the eye. Uveitis can decrease patients' vision if it is not treated. The dexamethasone pellet is an implant filled with a corticosteroid medicine. This therapy is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of intermediate and/or posterior uveitis. In this study investigators want to see if using the implant together with systemic immunosuppressive drug therapy can result in lower ocular side effect profile but is effective enough to replace the use of high-dose systemic corticosteroids in the treatment of active intermediate and/or posterior uveitis. Knowing the effectiveness and safety of these treatments is important because the kinds of uveitis being studied usually need to be treated for many years. This information may help researchers understand uveitis better and may suggest ways of improving treatment. Adult patients with intermediate and/or posterior uveitis for which immunosuppressive drug therapy with high-dose corticosteroid is planned may join.