Effectiveness of Pegylated Interferon Alpha-2a in Post-Uveitic Macular Edema Previously Responding to Non-Pegylated Interferon

• Published in: Ocular immunology and inflammation Vol. ahead-of-print; no. ahead-of-print; pp. 1 - 5
• Main Authors: De Simone, L., Gentile, P., Aldigeri, R., Mastrofilippo, V., Bolletta, E., Gozzi, F., Adani, C., Salvarani, C., Cimino, L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Efficacy; Female; Fluorescein Angiography; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Injections, Subcutaneous; Interferon-alpha - therapeutic use; macular edema; Macular Edema - diagnosis; Macular Edema - drug therapy; Macular Edema - etiology; Male; Middle Aged; PEG-IFN alpha-2a; Polyethylene Glycols - therapeutic use; post-uveitic; Recombinant Proteins - administration & dosage; Recombinant Proteins - therapeutic use; Retrospective Studies; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Treatment Outcome; uveitis; Visual Acuity - physiology; post-uveitic; Efficacy; macular edema; PEG-IFN alpha-2a; uveitis
• ISSN: 0927-3948; 1744-5078; 1744-5078
• DOI: 10.1080/09273948.2023.2195494

To evaluate the efficacy of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) alpha-2a to treat post-uveitic relapsing macular edema (ME) after withdrawal of non-PEG IFN alpha-2a or 2b to maintain treatment efficacy. This retrospective study investigated subjects with post-uveitic ME who received weekly subcutaneous PEG-IFN alpha-2a injections. Comparisons between baseline central macular thickness (CMT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and those at all follow-up visits were made. Six patients (nine eyes) were treated and followed up for six months. CMT (mean [standard deviation]) decreased from 375[117] to 283[39] μm after one month (p < 0.001), remaining significantly lower up to the final follow-up visit at six months (275[38] μm, p = 0.008), and BCVA (0.21[0.16] logMAR at baseline) showed an improvement of 0.12[0.11] logMAR (p = 0.026) at six months. Neither recurrences nor any serious adverse events were recorded. Post-uveitic ME patients were effectively and safely treated with PEG-IFN alpha-2a.