TY - JOUR
AU - Berney, Seth
AB - High-dose corticosteroids (CS) are the mainstay of treatment for temporal (giant cell) arteritis (TA). A usually required long-term treatment with CS, ranging from 1 to 5 years or more, frequently leads to serious side effects in about 60% of patients. There is no conclusive evidence about the role of immunosuppressive agents like methotrexate and azathioprine in the treatment of TA. There are few reports of treatment of refractory or steroid-dependent TA with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors including infliximab and etanercept. TA is characterized by infiltration of the vessel wall by macrophages, giant cells, and T lymphocytes, with production of several cytokines responsible for the acute phase response. TNF-α has been demonstrated in up to 60% of the cells in all areas of inflamed arteries by immunohistochemical techniques; hence, it could play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of TA. We report the first case of resistant TA, which was treated successfully with adalimumab, a fully human recombinant IgG1, anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibody. The efficacy of TNF-α inhibitors in resistant TA should be studied in larger, controlled studies.
TI - Treatment of refractory temporal arteritis with adalimumab
JF - Clinical Rheumatology
DO - 10.1007/s10067-006-0375-2
DA - 2006-08-30
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/springer-journals/treatment-of-refractory-temporal-arteritis-with-adalimumab-Fy9hcHnUK4
SP - 1353
EP - 1355
VL - 26
IS - 8
DP - DeepDyve
ER -