Onset and duration of action of ketotifen 0.025% and emedastine 0.05% in seasonal allergic conjunctivitis : efficacy after repeated pollen challenges in the vienna challenge chamber.

Objective: To compare the efficacy, onset and duration of action, and the safety of ketotifen fumarate 0.025% ophthalmic solution and emedastine difumarate 0.05% ophthalmic solution in subjects with seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC) induced by allergen exposure, using the Vienna Challenge Chamber model.

Eotaxin-1 (CCL11) up-regulation in tears during seasonal allergic conjunctivitis.

Purpose: To compare in-season eotaxin-1 levels in tears of patients suffering from seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC) with (1) tears of normal subjects and (2) tears of SAC patients out of season.

Methods: Tears of 11 SAC patients and six control volunteers were collected during the pollen season. Tears of five SAC patients showing a strong sensitivity to grass pollen (skin-prick tests and specific serum IgE) were collected both in season and out of season.

Fomivirsen.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis can rapidly lead to blindness in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Fomivirsen is a novel antisense drug with a 21-nucleotide sequence complementary to the immediate early region 2 of CMV messenger ribonucleic acid. In clinical trials, fomivirsen was shown to provide effective treatment for newly diagnosed, peripheral CMV retinitis in patients with AIDS and in those with relapsed CMV retinitis that is unresponsive to conventional therapy.