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Home » Resources » Clinical Studies » Studies of the Ocular Complications of AIDS (SOCA)
Clinical Studies Supported by the NEI

Studies of the Ocular Complications of AIDS (SOCA)

Purpose

Background

CMV retinitis is the most common intraocular infection in patients with AIDS and is estimated to affect 35 to 40 percent of patients with AIDS. Untreated CMV retinitis is a progressive disorder, the end result of which is total retinal destruction and blindness. As of September 1996, drugs approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of CMV retinitis were ganciclovir (Cytovene), foscarnet (Foscavir), and cidofovir (Vistide). All systemically administered anti-CMV drugs are given in a similar fashion consisting of initial 2-week high-dose treatment (induction) to control the infection followed by long-term lower dose treatment (maintenance) to prevent relapse. Ganciclovir is available in intravenous and oral formulations and foscarnet in an intravenous formulation, and cidofovir is given by intermittent intravenous administration. An intraocular sustained-release ganciclovir device (Vitrasert) is also FDA-approved for the treatment of CMV retinitis and is effective for controlling the ocular disease. Because CMV is a systemic infection and is associated with dissemination to both eyes and/or the viscera, local treatment of CMV retinitis may need systemic supplementation to prevent contralateral ocular disease and prevent and/or treat visceral disease.

Description

In order to address issues related to eye involvement in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), the National Eye Institute has funded the Studies of the Ocular Complication of AIDS (SOCA), a multicenter clinical trials group. SOCA’s major activities involve evaluating treatments and treatment strategies for cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, the most frequent opportunistic infection in patients with AIDS. Descriptions of each SOCA trial follow.

Ganciclovir-Cidofovir CMV Retinitis Trial (GCCRT)
Cytomegalovirus Retinitis Retreatment Trial (CRRT)
Foscarnet-Ganciclovir CMV Retinitis Trial (FGCRT)
HPMPC Peripheral CMV Retinitis Trial (HPCRT)
Monoclonal Antibody CMV Retinitis Trial (MACRT)
Longitudinal Study of Ocular Complications of AIDS (LSOCA)

SOCA Website

http://www.jhsph.edu/Research/Centers/CCT/soca/

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