Graves' eye disease affected patients can get relief from RituximabRituximab, which is used for treating autoimmune diseases, may prove to be an effective option for treating Graves’ eye disease.

Raymond S. Douglas, M.D., Ph.D., an oculoplastics specialist who recently joined the faculty of the U-M Kellogg Eye Center, remarked on the drug’s potential in the online October issue of Ophthalmology.

It was noticed that inflammation near the eyes and optic nerve damage got reduced considerably when the drug rituximab was administered to the affected patients.

From News-Medical.Net:

Graves’ eye disease is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and fatty deposits in the eye muscles and connective tissue surrounding the eye. Among the symptoms are pronounced bulging eyes, retracted eyelids, dry eyes, and, in severe cases, loss of vision. Women are more likely than men to develop the disease.

The study suggests that rituximab is a potentially effective new treatment for the most severe forms of Graves’ eye disease. “These patients had already received the maximum level of steroid treatment,” says Douglas. “Treatment with rituximab calmed inflammation, stopped progression of the disease, and saved the patients from having to undergo surgery.”

Rituximab has been used to treat patients with other autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and in non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphoma. The drug works by depleting B cells-the body’s normal antibody-producing cells-that appear to go awry in autoimmune diseases.

Douglas was hopeful of the fact that rituximab may offer sustained improvement and a point in continuing with proceeding with a large-scale clinical trial to test this promising new drug.

However, high doses of steroids may still be the first line treatment in a combination with orbital radiation.


Tags: , ,

Posted in Steroid Cycles, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, buy steroids, steroid nation