In our trial, adalimumab was found to be associated with a lower risk of uveitic flare or visual impairment and with more adverse events and serious adverse events than was placebo. (Funded by AbbVie; VISUAL I ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01138657 .).

No abstract

The authors assessed the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for refractory epilepsy in 45 adults 50 years of age and older. They determined seizure frequency, adverse effects, and quality of life. At 3 months, 12 patients had a >50% decrease in seizure frequency; at 1 year, 21 of 31 studied individuals had a >50% seizure decrease. Side effects were mild and transient. Quality of life scores improved significantly with time.

No abstract

BackgroundCorticosteroids, currently the mainstay of uveitis treatment, are associated with unwanted side effects, and are not always fully effective. Accordingly, there is a clear unmet need for steroid-sparing treatments. Multiple reports describe the use of biologics, including adalimumab (ADA), in the management of non-infectious uveitis as steroid-sparing agents, but there is a paucity of level 1 evidence to support efficacy of these drugs.ObjectivesTo assess ADA efficacy and safety in patients with active, sight-threatening, non-infectious uveitis despite systemic high-dose corticosteroid therapy.MethodsThis multinational, double-masked trial included patients aged ≥18 years with active, non-infectious intermediate, posterior, or panuveitis on ≥2 weeks of prednisone (10–60 mg/d). Patients with active uveitis had ≥1 of: active, inflammatory chorioretinal or retinal vascular lesion; anterior chamber (AC) cell grade ≥2+; or vitreous haze (VH) grade ≥2+. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive placebo or ADA. The ADA group received an 80-mg baseline loading dose and 40 mg every other week for up to 80 weeks; all patients received prednisone 60 mg/d that was tapered to 0 mg by week 15. Primary endpoint was time to treatment failure (TF) in ≥1 eye. TF was defined as ≥1 of: new, active, inflammatory vascular lesions; worsening of BCVA by ≥15 letters at or after week 6; inability to achieve ≤0.5+ AC cell grade or ≤0.5+ VH grade (at week 6); or 2-step increase in AC cell grade or VH grade (after week 6). Ranked secondary endpoints included change in AC cell grade, VH grade, and BCVA from the best state achieved before week 6 to the final visit. Safety was monitored during the trial.Results217 patients were enrolled (female, 57%; mean age, 42.7 y; mean uveitis duration, 46 mo); 22% had intermediate, 33% had posterior, and 45% had panuveitis. Patients on ADA were less likely to have TF (hazard ratio=0.5; 95% CI, 0.36–0.70; P<0.001) and had fewer causes of TF. Median time to TF was 13 weeks for placebo and 24 weeks for ADA (Figure). Worsening of AC cell grade, VH grade, and BCVA from best state achieved were reduced with ADA compared with placebo (all P<0.05). Adverse event rates were similar in the ADA and placebo groups.ConclusionsIn patients with active, non-infectious intermediate, posterior, or pan uveitis despite the use of corticosteroids, ADA significantly lowered the risk for uveitic flare or BCVA loss. The safety profile was consistent with the known safety profile across approved ADA indications.AcknowledgementsWriting assistance was provided by Jillian Gee and Katherine Groschwitz of Complete Publication Solutions, LLC (CPS), Horsham, PA and Peter Rittenhouse of Complete Healthcare Communications, Inc (CHC), Chadds Ford, PA, on behalf of AbbVie. AbbVie provided funding to CPS and CHC for medical writing assistance. AbbVie funded the study (NCT01138657), contributed to its design and the data analyses, and was involved in the drafting, review, and approval of the abstract.Disclosure of InterestG. Jaffe, MD Co...