Biologics in uveitis: An update

Abstract

Uveitis is' the term used to describe inflammation of the uvea. It can be due to infective or non-infective agents. Most of the non-infectious uveitides are autoimmune or auto-inflammatory in nature, and the management of non-infective uveitis is often crucial. Advancements in biotechnology and understanding the pathophysiologies of autoimmune diseases have enabled the development of the new class of drugs named 'biologics'. These drugs act at cellular level inhibiting the actions of pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1, and IL-6, and B and T lymphocytes. Biologics have been proven to be less toxic and can be used in uveitic cases that are refractory to conventional therapy. Though the efficacy of biologics is based on insufficient clinical trials, majority of them indicate preferable outcomes on refractory uveitis, with remarkable promise to increase the possibility of long-term remission. In this review, we aimed to outline the ideal characteristics of each biologic drug and review the data to support the use of current and emerging biological therapies.