Rituximab for Wegener’s granulomatosis

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled “Successful treatment of Wegener’s granulomatosis associated scleritis with rituximab” (Br J Ophthalmol. 2005 Nov;89(11):1542 ). Authors are Cheung CM, Murray PI and Savage CO from the Academic Unit of Ophthalmology, Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre, City Hospital, UK. Rituximab (Rituxan) is a new anti-CD20 B cell monoclonal antibody that has been used successfully to treat refractory cases of Wegener’s granulomatosis (WG). Authors describe the successful treatment of Wegener’s associated scleritis with rituximab. A 21 year old man with WG, presented with bilateral, painful, red eyes. A diagnosis of scleritis was made. Over the next month the scleritis had not improved. He was given an intravenous infusion of rituximab. Intravenous cyclophosphamide adjusted for renal function, was also given. This led to an immediate significant systemic improvement. The pulmonary infiltrate resolved. The scleritis also resolved promptly. This is the first case reporting rituximab as an effective treatment for refractory WG associated scleritis. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.