Olokizumab versus Placebo or Adalimumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

BACKGROUND: The cytokine interleukin-6 is involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. Olokizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the interleukin-6 cytokine directly, is being tested for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: In a 24-week, phase 3, multicenter, placebo- and active-controlled trial, we randomly assigned (in a 2:2:2:1 ratio) patients with rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to methotrexate to receive subcutaneous olokizumab at a dose of 64 mg every 2 or 4 weeks, adalimumab (40 mg every 2 weeks), or placebo; all patients continued methotrexate therapy. The primary end point was an American College of Rheumatology 20 (ACR20) response (≥20% fewer tender and swollen joints and ≥20% improvement in three of five other domains) at week 12, with each olokizumab dose tested for superiority to placebo. We also tested the noninferiority of each olokizumab dose to adalimumab with respect to the percentage of patients with an ACR20 response (noninferiority margin, -12 percentage points in the lower boundary of the 97.5% confidence interval for the difference between groups). RESULTS: A total of 464 patients were assigned to receive olokizumab every 2 weeks, 479 to receive olokizumab every 4 weeks, 462 to receive adalimumab, and 243 to receive placebo. An ACR20 response at week 12 occurred in 44.4% of the patients receiving placebo, in 70.3% receiving olokizumab every 2 weeks (difference vs. placebo, 25.9 percentage points; 97.5% confidence interval [CI], 17.1 to 34.1), in 71.4% receiving olokizumab every 4 weeks (difference vs. placebo, 27.0 percentage points; 97.5% CI, 18.3 to 35.2), and in 66.9% receiving adalimumab (difference vs. placebo, 22.5 percentage points; 95% CI, 14.8 to 29.8) (P<0.001 for the superiority of each olokizumab dose to placebo). Both olokizumab doses were noninferior to adalimumab with respect to the percentage of patients with an ACR20 response at week 12 (difference, 3.4 percentage points [97.5% CI, -3.5 to 10.2] with olokizumab every 2 weeks and 4.5 percentage points [97.5% CI, -2.2 to 11.2] with olokizumab every 4 weeks). Adverse events, most commonly infections, occurred in approximately 70% of the patients who received olokizumab. Antibodies against olokizumab were detected in 3.8% of the patients receiving the drug every 2 weeks and in 5.1% of those receiving it every 4 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were receiving maintenance methotrexate, olokizumab was superior to placebo and noninferior to adalimumab in producing an ACR20 response at 12 weeks. Larger and longer trials are required to determine the efficacy and safety of olokizumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. (Supported by R-Pharm; CREDO2 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02760407.).

Imatinib mesylate use in refractory eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis: a literature review and a case report.

Recent advances in pharmacology have greatly expanded the drug repertoire for treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare multisystemic disorder, a type of the ANCA-associated vasculitis. Important features of this disease are eosinophilia and anti-myeloperoxidase ANCA presence in around 30-70% of patients. Primary therapy of EGPA includes steroids and cytotoxic drugs, e.g., cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, or methotrexate. Nevertheless, some patients are refractory to this therapy. Alternative approaches include rituximab, mepolizumab, and intravenous immunoglobulin. Accumulating evidence highlight a new promising drug in EGPA therapy-imatinib mesylate (IM), tyrosine kinase inhibitor. This drug is a key pharmacological agent in treating various types of hematological malignancies and FIP1L1/PDGF-RA-positive hypereosinophilia. In this article, we present a case demonstrating successful treatment of EGPA with IM; we also discuss possible mechanisms of IM efficacy in EGPA treatment and future perspectives of this therapeutic approach.

Liver transplantation in a patient with primary antiphospholipid syndrome and Budd-Chiari syndrome.

The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an acquired thrombophilic disorder in which autoantibodies are produced to a variety of phospholipids determinants of cell membranes or phospholipid binding proteins. There are few reports about association between antiphospholipid antibodies and development of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS). We report the case of BCS development in young Russian male with primary APS. The patient underwent orthotopic liver transplantation on August 26, 2012. At present time his state is good, the blood flow in the liver restored and its function is not impaired. We report about the first time the successful use of dabigatran etexilate for prolonged anticoagulation therapy in APS patient with BCS. In addition patient is managed with immunosuppressive drugs.

Clinical And Morphological Improvement Of Lupus Nephritis Treated With Rituximab.

AIM: TO assess the effects of rituximab (RTM) therapy on clinical and morphologic activity of lupus nephritis (LN). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 45 patients with confirmed diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), unaffected by previously received standard therapy with glucocorticoids (GCs) and cytostatics. The disease activity was assessed using Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI 2K); to assess the LN activity we used the SLICC RA/RE index. Forty-five patients with LN were given puncture renal biopsy prior to prescribing RTM; 16 patients had repeated renal biopsy 1 year and more after beginning the anti-B-cell therapy. LN was graded histologically in accordance with the WHO classification (2003) with indices of activity (AI) and chronicity (CI). RESULTS: The predominant number of patients had class III - IV of LN. The repeated renal biopsies demonstrated that LN had undergone a transition into a more favourable morphologic class, which was associated, in most of these cases, with a positive therapeutic effect. The follow-up dynamics showed a statistically significant reduction of AI (p=0.006), and no statistically significant changes in the CI (p = 0.14). CONCLUSION: The long-term follow-up in the study has showed that repeated courses of anti-B-cell therapy with RTM have a positive effect both on SLE activity and generally on the renal process. The reduction of the morphologic class of LN as assessed in the repeated renal biopsies is a convincing proof for this. Eleven out of 16 patients experienced transition of the morphologic class into a more favourable type, which in most cases was combined with lower AI (p = 0.006). We found no evidence of increase in the CI (p = 0.14).