Non-Invasive Drug Delivery to Treat Posterior Uveitis

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Intermediate and posterior uveitis cause 10% of blindness in the U.S. The mainstay of therapy is to eradicate the infectious cause and to quell the inflammation with corticosteroids or immunosuppressants. Delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs to the posterior portion of the globe in therapeutic concentrations has proven difficult. There are four methods of delivering compounds to the posterior chamber: intravitreal injection, oral administration with subsequent distribution into the eye through optic blood flow, peribulbar injection, and passive diffusion through the sclera following topical application. Each method has its well-known drawbacks. This proposal will study non-invasive drug delivery to the posterior portion of the rabbit's eye. Specific aims include studying the passive permeability of a corticosteroid and mechanisms to enhance non-invasive transscleral delivery to the posterior retina. Included in these mechanisms are means to decrease conjunctival and choroidal pre-retinal clearance. Lastly, once we have determined the formulation and conditions that maximize corticosteroid delivery, we will study in vivo effectiveness of our technique in the treatment of endotoxin-induced uveitis in the rabbit model.