Rituximab preserves vision in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity1442 @entity2225 @entity13592
OBJECTIVE: To study the effectiveness and safety of anti- @entity2225 B-cell antibody rituximab (RTX) in the treatment of @entity13592 (MMP). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of six MMP @entity1 receiving RTX with or without concomitant immunosuppression. RTX was administered as a high dose regimen (1000 mg/infusion, day 0 and day 14/cycle). Five @entity1 received more than one cycle. Main outcome measure was the treatment response, defined as complete remission (CR) or partial remission (PR), monitored at 16 and 24 weeks. As secondary outcome measure, drug-related adverse events were evaluated. RESULTS: All @entity1 responded within 16 weeks. Initial treatment response vanished in five of six @entity1 at a mean of 10 months (   4.4 standard deviation [SD]). A second cycle was initiated thereafter (interval 12 months    6.4 SD) resulting in CR in two of five and PR in three of five @entity1 . One @entity1 stabilized only when additional immunosuppression was initiated. Mean follow up was 22 months (   8.2 SD).Two individuals experienced infusion reactions. CONCLUSIONS: Our study adds long-term data to the very limited experience with biologicals in MMP, indicating that RTX is a promising option for @entity1 with @entity1442 . We report for the first time the high dose regimen of RTX applied in a consecutive series.
