An update on the use of biologic therapies in the management of uveitis in Behçet's disease: a comprehensive review

Thomas W. McNally, Erika M. Damato, Philip Murray, Alastair K. Denniston, Robert J. Barry

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)
191 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Behçet's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis characterised by a relapsing remitting course, affecting multiple organ systems. In the eye, it is a cause of potentially blinding inflammation in the form of uveitis. Management of uveitis in BD often requires the use of systemic immunosuppression, in order to reduce disease activity and prevent accumulation of irreversible damage. Whilst corticosteroids remain the mainstay of treatment, long-term use is limited by the development of adrenocorticotrophic side effects. There has therefore been significant interest in the use of corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppressive agents, and more recently, biologic therapies. Recent publications have demonstrated biologic therapy to have beneficial effects both on overall disease control, and quality of life for patients with BD. Widespread use of such agents is however limited, partly by the lack of high quality research evidence, and partly by the prohibitive cost of biologic treatments. In this review, we discuss the most recent research investigating the use of biologic therapy in uveitis due to BD, with consideration of health economics and quality of life outcomes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number130
Pages (from-to)130
JournalOrphanet Journal of Rare Diseases
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Jul 2017

Keywords

  • Journal Article
  • Review
  • Behçet’s disease
  • biologic therapy
  • health economics
  • immunosuppresion
  • quality of life
  • steroid sparing agents
  • uveitis

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