New treatment for uveitis

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine details the findings that the arthritis medication, adalimumab, can effectively treat uveitis. Researchers were looking to determine what effect adalimumab has on patients with uveitis. Adalimumab is a steroid-free, injection that has few side effects and is used to treat rheumatic diseases. 217 adults who had active non-infectious intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis or panuveitis were involved in the study and given adalimumab in a 1:1 ratio matched by a placebo. Those patients receiving the drug rather than the placebo were more likely to have successful treatment of their uveitis. The study findings will hopefully led to greater improvement in the management of uveitis in patients who have only experienced partial success with the use of corticosteroids or who are not eligible for corticosteroid treatment.