These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed


  • Title: Successful tocilizumab and tacrolimus treatment in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis complicated by systemic lupus erythematosus.
    Author: Maeshima K, Ishii K, Torigoe M, Imada C, Iwakura M, Hamasaki H, Akamine M, Haranaka M, Yoshimatsu H.
    Journal: Lupus; 2012 Aug; 21(9):1003-6. PubMed ID: 22433919.
    Abstract:
    We report a 37-year-old female of intractable rheumatoid arthritis (RA) complicated by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), who was successfully treated with a combination of tocilizumab (TCZ) and tacrolimus. She was diagnosed with RA when she was 21 years old, and was administered oral prednisolone, injectable gold and salazosulfapyridine, but deformity of her hands gradually developed. She developed high fever and thrombocytopenia when she was 35 years old. Renal involvement, pericarditis, positive antinuclear antibody and high level of anti-double-stranded DNA antibody were found and the patient was diagnosed with SLE. Polyarthritis and immunological abnormalities developed despite aggressive immunosuppressive therapy including high-dose corticosteroids and intravenously administered cyclophosphamide. Tacrolimus (TAC) therapy gave only partial improvement of joint symptoms. After the initiation of combination therapy with TCZ, not only was a complete remission of RA obtained, but also the serum levels of SLE markers dramatically decreased. Our report suggests the possibility that this combination therapy is effective in treating SLE as well as RA.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]