Abstract
Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKHD) is a multisystemic disorder characterized by granulomatous panuveitis variably combined with T cell-mediated neurologic and cutaneous manifestations. Early and aggressive treatment with systemic corticosteroids is the mainstay of treatment for VKHD. Additional use of immunosuppressants, intravenous immunoglobulins, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors can help the most severely affected patients and work as corticosteroid-sparing agents. We report the case of a young woman with relapsing and multiresistant VKHD who demonstrated a stable remission of both uveitis and high-frequency hearing loss following rituximab intravenous administration (1 g. twice, 2 weeks apart, and 6 months later). A complete clinical response was observed 1 month since the first infusion, and no ocular relapses were recorded during the following year; in addition, audiometry showed a high-frequency hearing recovery in the right ear. Further observational studies are required to define the role of CD20 inhibition in the management of VKHD.
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Francesco Caso and Donato Rigante equally contributed to this report.
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Caso, F., Rigante, D., Vitale, A. et al. Long-lasting uveitis remission and hearing loss recovery after rituximab in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease. Clin Rheumatol 34, 1817–1820 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-014-2781-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-014-2781-1