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New IL-6 blocker for arthritis. MS?
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:11 pm
by CureOrBust
A new drug for arthritis is all over the news today called Actemra (tocilizumab). From what i gather it is very effective at stopping the IL-6 pathway for inflamation, with a monthly injection.
I quickly searched the net to see if it was trialled on MS, and couldn't find anything. But when I searched ThisIsMS for IL-6 I get a lot of hits.
Does anyone know why? has it been trialled and failed?
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:05 am
by gibbledygook
cureo, i don't think they've thought of doing any trials on MS. This abstract doesn't mention anything other than inflammatory autoimmune diseases:
1: Rev Recent Clin Trials. 2006 Sep;1(3):193-200.Links
Anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody treatment in inflammatory autoimmune diseases.Ding C, Jones G.
Menzies Research Institute, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
changhai.ding@utas.edu.au
Tocilizumab (namely MRA), a humanized anti-interleukin (IL)-6 receptor monoclonal antibody, is under development by Roche for the treatment of inflammatory autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), adult-onset Still's disease, Castleman's disease and Crohn's disease. Tocilizumab has a long plasma half-life, so it can be administered intravenously biweekly or monthly. Phase I and II clinical trials showed that tocilizumab (2, 4, 5, 8 or 10 mg/kg) reduced disease activity significantly in a dose-dependent manner. Tocilizumab not only improved signs and symptoms, but also normalized inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), fibrinogen and serum amyloid A, and reversed joint damage of RA. The efficacy of tocilizumab in the treatment of RA was at least as good as methotrexate. Tocilizumab was generally safe and well tolerated. Some adverse events such as significant rises in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels, liver function disorders, decreases in white blood cell counts, diarrhoea and infection were observed. In summary, preliminary clinical results suggest that tocilizumab is effective and generally well tolerated in the treatment of IL-6-related inflammatory autoimmune diseases. Like other anti-cytokine immunotherapies, caution and close monitoring for the adverse events, especially infection, are necessary in subsequent clinical trials.
PMID: 18473972 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related ArticlesTocilizumab: blockade of interleukin-6 signaling pathway as a therapeutic strategy for inflammatory disorders. [Drugs Today (Barc). 2006] [Anti-IL-6 receptor antibody] [Nippon Rinsho. 2005] Clinical studies in patients with Castleman's disease, Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis in Japan. [Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2005] Anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody therapy in rheumatic diseases. [Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets. 2006] Humanized antihuman IL-6 receptor antibody, tocilizumab. [Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2008] ยป See all Related Articles...
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