{"title":"Usage status of biologics for the chronic treatment of optic neuritis in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders in Japan.","authors":"Yohei Takahashi, Takeshi Kezuka, Keigo Shikishima, Akiko Yamagami, Hideki Chuman, Makoto Nakamura, Satoshi Ueki, Akiko Kimura, Masato Hashimoto, Sonoko Tatsui, Kimiyo Mashimo, Hitoshi Ishikawa","doi":"10.1007/s10384-024-01129-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To investigate the usage status of biologics for the chronic treatment of optic neuritis including neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders in Japan.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Multicenter retrospective case series.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients diagnosed with anti-aquaporin 4 antibody (AQP4-Ab) positive optic neuritis and had been initiated on biologics (satralizumab, eculizumab, and inebilizumab) between January 2020 and August 2022 were identified at 30 facilities in Japan. These patients were investigated regarding changes in oral steroid doses, optic neuritis relapse, and adverse events after initiation of biologics.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eighty-eight patients with AQP4-Ab positive optic neuritis initiated on biologics were included. Satralizumab was the most common biologic used (79 patients), followed by eculizumab (6 patients) and inebilizumab (3 patients). In the satralizumab group, during the observation period (10.0±7.0 months) until February 2023, the oral steroid dose was reduced significantly from 13.8 ± 8.6 mg/day at the time of initiation to 5.3 ± 4.8 mg/day (p < 0.001). No relapse of optic neuritis was observed in 76 of 79 patients (96.2%) after initiation of satralizumab. Furthermore, in 15 patients who succeeded in discontinuing steroids during 8.5 ± 5.8 months after initiation of satralizumab, no relapse of optic neuritis was observed throughout the observation period. Adverse events occurred in 7 patients with satralizumab and 2 patients with eculizumab, but no serious infections were observed.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Satralizumab was the most commonly used biologic for AQP4-Ab positive optic neuritis in Japan. This study demonstrates the efficacy and safety of satralizumab in preventing the relapse of optic neuritis.</p>","PeriodicalId":14563,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-024-01129-4","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the usage status of biologics for the chronic treatment of optic neuritis including neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders in Japan.
Design: Multicenter retrospective case series.
Methods: Patients diagnosed with anti-aquaporin 4 antibody (AQP4-Ab) positive optic neuritis and had been initiated on biologics (satralizumab, eculizumab, and inebilizumab) between January 2020 and August 2022 were identified at 30 facilities in Japan. These patients were investigated regarding changes in oral steroid doses, optic neuritis relapse, and adverse events after initiation of biologics.
Results: Eighty-eight patients with AQP4-Ab positive optic neuritis initiated on biologics were included. Satralizumab was the most common biologic used (79 patients), followed by eculizumab (6 patients) and inebilizumab (3 patients). In the satralizumab group, during the observation period (10.0±7.0 months) until February 2023, the oral steroid dose was reduced significantly from 13.8 ± 8.6 mg/day at the time of initiation to 5.3 ± 4.8 mg/day (p < 0.001). No relapse of optic neuritis was observed in 76 of 79 patients (96.2%) after initiation of satralizumab. Furthermore, in 15 patients who succeeded in discontinuing steroids during 8.5 ± 5.8 months after initiation of satralizumab, no relapse of optic neuritis was observed throughout the observation period. Adverse events occurred in 7 patients with satralizumab and 2 patients with eculizumab, but no serious infections were observed.
Conclusions: Satralizumab was the most commonly used biologic for AQP4-Ab positive optic neuritis in Japan. This study demonstrates the efficacy and safety of satralizumab in preventing the relapse of optic neuritis.
期刊介绍:
The Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology (JJO) was inaugurated in 1957 as a quarterly journal published in English by the Ophthalmology Department of the University of Tokyo, with the aim of disseminating the achievements of Japanese ophthalmologists worldwide. JJO remains the only Japanese ophthalmology journal published in English. In 1997, the Japanese Ophthalmological Society assumed the responsibility for publishing the Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology as its official English-language publication.
Currently the journal is published bimonthly and accepts papers from authors worldwide. JJO has become an international interdisciplinary forum for the publication of basic science and clinical research papers.