Safety and Effectiveness of Interferon Alpha-2a in Treatment of Patients with Behçet's Uveitis Refractory to Conventional Treatments

Purpose To evaluate the intermediate-term safety and effectiveness of interferon alpha-2a (IFNα2a) in patients with Behçet's uveitis (BU) refractory to corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents. Design Open, nonrandomized, uncontrolled, interventional, prospective study. Participants Fifty-three patients (106 eyes) with active, vision-threatening BU who failed to respond to conventional treatments. Intervention In 53 patients, acute inflammation was suppressed with effective prednisolone dosage (1–2 mg/kg/day, tapered to 10 mg within 4–6 weeks). The patients were treated with IFNα2a 4.5 million international units (MIU) 3 times per week for the first 3 months followed by IFNα2a 3 MIU 3 times per week for the next 3 months. Observation or other treatment methods were performed according to the decision tree developed for this study. Main Outcome Measures Remission and complete response (primary outcome measures), frequency of uveitis attacks, visual acuity (VA), and adverse effects (secondary outcome measures). Results During 2 years of follow-up (median 65 months, range 12–130 months), compliance with the therapy was excellent. At the end of 1-year follow-up, treatment response was obtained in 45 of 53 patients (84.9%). The mean attack rate of 3.6±1.1 per year (range, 2–8) decreased to 0.56±0.75 (range, 0–4) per year ( P =0.001). Visual acuity improved (≥0.2 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution units from initial VA) in 30 eyes (28.3%) and worsened in 12 eyes (11.3%). Five patients (9.4%) did not respond to the initial treatment, and 3 patients (5.6%) developed severe adverse effects, including psoriasis, epileptic seizure, and extreme tiredness. Fifteen patients (28.3%) were off treatment for all the medications and disease free for 28±13.1 months (range, 12–50 months). Conclusions These results suggest that IFNα2a may be a valuable treatment option in BU that is refractory to corticosteroids and conventional immunosuppressive agents. The possible role of IFNα2a as a first-line agent in BU should be validated in randomized controlled clinical trials against newly described biologic agents. Financial Disclosure(s) The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.