Abstract
Purpose: :
Atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) is a potentially blinding disease. It is usually associated with atopic dermatitis that has been managed successfully with systemic mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in some severe forms of the disease. In this study, the authors evaluated systemic MMF treatment in patients with severe AKC.
Methods: :
Five patients, from the University Eye Hospital in Tuebingen, aged 18–57 years with severe AKC and atopic dermatitis refractory to other immunosuppressive therapies, e.g. cyclosporine A, received MMF in a dosage of 2g, that was given orally twice daily. Effectiveness was determined by the clinical course.
Results: :
After an observation period of 25.6±12.9 months ocular inflammation was controlled in all patients. No severe side effects were noted, only one patient discontinued the MMF treatment after 15 months due to gastritis.
Conclusions: :
MMF improved the ocular inflammation as well as the skin manifestations in all patients. Therefore, this report suggests that systemic MMF represents an interesting alternative therapy in severe AKC.
Keywords: autoimmune disease • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications • immunomodulation/immunoregulation