Ocular manifestations and clinical outcomes in Tubulointerstitial Nephritis and Uveitis Syndrome (TINU).

PURPOSE: To describe the various ocular clinical features and visual outcomes in Tubulointerstitial Nephritis and Uveitis Syndrome (TINU). METHODS: The medical records of 13 patients (26 eyes) diagnosed with TINU were reviewed. RESULTS: Twenty-six (26) eyes of 13 patients with TINU were reviewed in this study. The median age at onset of uveitis was 14 (range, 9-45). Eight (61.5%) subjects were female. The median follow-up of patients was 30 months (range, 6-89 months). Posterior segment findings were seen in 18 eyes of 9 patients (69.2%). The most common posterior findings were optic nerve head inflammation (16 eyes, 88.8%) and retinal vasculitis (13 eyes, 72.2%). Other posterior findings included vitritis (8 eyes, 44.4%), macular edema (6 eyes, 33.3%), snowball (4 eyes, 22.2%), and chorioretinal lesions (2 eye, 11.1%). Eight patients had fluorescein angiography (FA) data available and most eyes had retinal capillary leakage (13 eyes, 81.2%) followed by optic disc staining/leakage (12 eyes, 75%). Twelve (12) patients (92.3%) were treated with immunomodulatory treatment (IMT) and/or biologics. Five patients (%38.4) required biologics to control intraocular inflammation. CONCLUSION: Posterior segment involvement may be common in patients with TINU syndrome. FA provides significant information for detecting posterior segment involvement and disease activity in TINU. The majority of patients required systemic treatment in order to control intraocular inflammation and prevent relapses.

Efficacy and Safety of Tocilizumab in the Management of Non-Infectious Uveitis Failed with Conventional Immunomodulatory and Anti-TNFα Therapies.

PURPOSE: To determine the outcomes of intravenous (IV) tocilizumab (TCZ) in patients with non-infectious uveitis who failed with conventional immunomodulatory and anti-TNFα therapies. METHODS: Records of seven patients with non-infectious uveitis treated with monthly IV TCZ (4-10 mg/kg) or biweekly IV TCZ (8 mg/kg) were reviewed. Outcome measures were changes in visual acuity, anterior chamber cell and flare grade, vitreous haze, central subfield thickness (CST), and fluorescein angiography (FA) score. RESULTS: Ten eyes of seven patients received TCZ therapy. Median age of patients was 14 (range, 7-24) years. Median duration of TCZ therapy was 15 (range, 5-32) months. Mean CST reduced from 373 ± 101.0 µm to 298.2 ± 40.3 µm. Mean FA score reduced from 12.5 ± 4.3 to 3.6 ± 2.6. One patient developed elevated liver transaminases. CONCLUSION: IV TCZ is a potentially effective and safe therapeutic option for the management of refractory non-infectious uveitis.

Efficacy and safety of intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy in diabetic retinopathy: what we have learned and what should we learn further?

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most frequent microvascular complications of diabetes that can lead to blindness. Laser treatment has been the gold standard treatment for diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) for many years. Recently, the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been established in the pathogenesis of DR, and the use of intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy has gained popularity for the management of DR. AREAS COVERED: This review includes a brief overview of the efficacy and safety of currently available (bevacizumab, ranibizumab, and aflibercept) and potential future (brolucizumab, faricimab, and KSI-301) anti-VEGF agents in patients with DR based mainly on publicly available data from phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials. EXPERT OPINION: Clinical trials investigating the efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab, ranibizumab, and aflibercept injections demonstrated favorable functional and anatomical outcomes in patients with DME. Moreover, the use of these anti-VEGF agents showed a significant improvement in the severity of DR. Recent clinical research for future anti-VEGF molecules aims to provide higher target-protein binding affinity and prolonged therapeutic effect. Brolucizumab, faricimab, and KSI-301 are three novel anti-VEGF agents that demonstrate promising data for the management of DME and potentially DR.