Biphosphonates and intraocular inflammation

PURPOSE/MATERIAL AND METHOD: A 67 year old woman had been taking oral alendronate in a single weekly dose of 70 mg. She developed panuveitis in her right eye and anterior uveitis in the left. The uveitis was resolved with steroids and discontinuation of alendronate. Three weeks later alendronate was reinstituted and this produced a recurrence. Her past medical history revealed that she had a temporal arteritis but her past ocular history was unremarkable.

Conclusions: Disodium alendronate can cause intraocular inflammation (panuveitis and anterior uveitis), which requires discontinuing the treatment.