Interferon alfa-2a in the Treatment of Ocular Adamantiades-Behçet’s Disease

Adamantiades-Behcet’s disease (ABD) is a chronic relapsing multisystemic vasculitis involving small and large vessels. The etiology of the disease still remains unknown. Relapsing ocular involvement is one of the major manifestations of Adamantiades-Behcet’s disease‚ characterized by iritis (Fig. 1)‚ uveitis‚ retinal occlusive vasculitis (Fig. 2)‚ and optic nerve neuropathy that often lead to blindness if untreated. Retinal detachment and secondary glaucoma are severe complications of occlusive retinal vasculitis. Surgical intervention of these complications often leads to a recurrence of the inflammation limiting the surgical results. In the case of AdamantiadesBehcet’s disease with eye involvement‚ a combination of systemic corticosteroids and cyclosporine A is currently the treatment of choice‚ although severe side effects‚ such as Cushing syndrome‚ osteoporosis or renal failure and hypertension frequently occur. Interferon alfa has been shown to be an effective treatment in mucocutaneous ABD. It has also been suggested to improve ocular lesions. We examined the effects of interferon alfa-2a (6-9 Mio IU 3x/week) in a case series of 24 patients with ocular involvement.