Objectives To evaluate the safety and efficacy of retreatment with tocilizumab (TCZ) in patients who had participated in the DREAM study (Drug free remission/low disease activity after cessation of tocilizumab [Actemar] monotherapy study) and had experienced loss of efficacy. Methods Patients were retreated with TCZ or other disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Disease...
Objectives To investigate the duration of remission and low disease activity (LDA) after cessation of tocilizumab (TCZ) treatment in rheumatoid arthritis patients who showed remission or LDA as assessed by DAS28 in response to preceding TCZ monotherapy, and to explore the factors contributing to prolonged efficacy duration. Methods Disease activity was monitored for 56 weeks. The...
Objectives The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its current treatment practices in Japan are poorly documented. Therefore, we examined these factors in a Japanese health insurance database. Methods We analyzed reimbursement data provided by health insurance societies for 1 million individuals, including healthy individuals, registered from January 2005 to June 2011...
Objectives A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the oral calcineurin inhibitor tacrolimus was performed in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis who had responded poorly to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and factors related to suppression of joint destruction were investigated. Methods The change in the total Sharp score (∆TSS...
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a representative autoimmune disease characterized by chronic and destructive inflammatory synovitis. The multiple cytokines play pivotal roles in RA pathogenesis by inducing intracellular signaling, and members of the Janus kinase (JAK) family are essential for such signal transduction. An orally available JAK3 inhibitor, tofacitinib, has been applied...
Objectives The aim of this phase 3, double-blind study was to compare the radiographic and clinical effects of etanercept (ETN) versus methotrexate (MTX) over 52 weeks in Japanese subjects with active rheumatoid arthritis. Methods The study population comprised 550 subjects with inadequate response to ≥1 disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs who were randomized to treatment...
Purpose The aim of this study is to investigate the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the modified American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria for Fibromyalgia (mACR 2010-J) and the Fibromyalgia Symptom Scale (mFS-J). Methods According to the ACR 1990 classification criteria, patients with chronic pain were divided into the...
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a disabling autoimmune disease associated with an elevation of anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4) autoantibodies. Here, we present a case with NMO who responded to monthly administration of the anti-IL-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab. The treatment rapidly reduced the elevated numbers of plasmablasts and anti-AQP4 autoantibodies in the patient. Furthermore...
Objective To validate the revised Japanese Ministry of Health criteria for the diagnosis of Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) (JPN) (1999), The American-European Consensus Group classification criteria for SS (AECG) (2002), and American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SS (ACR) (2012). Methods The study subjects were 694 patients with SS or suspected SS who were followed...
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) presents stiffness of extremities due to sclerosis of the tissue especially at fingers, hands, and forearms. Here we report the case of a patient with diffuse cutaneous SSc who was administered anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab (TCZ). Skin condition of SSc is evaluated by pinching the skin according to the Rodnan skin score, but sometimes...
Objective This study was performed to evaluate the radiological features of and therapeutic responses to pulmonary disease caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in the setting of biological therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of 13 patients from multiple centers who had developed pulmonary NTM disease during biological...
We evaluated the efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and safety of adalimumab in Japanese patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who had an inadequate response to, or who were intolerant of, treatment with ≥1 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This phase 3, multicenter, open-label trial assessed the percentage of patients with a 20% response in the Assessment of...
We retrospectively investigated the ability of adalimumab (ADA) to reduce disease activity, improve physical function, and retard the progression of structural damage in 167 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical and functional outcomes were compared between patients with or without prior biologic treatment and those with or without concomitant methotrexate (MTX) treatment...
We (JMAAV [Japanese patients with MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis] Study Group) performed a prospective, open-label, multi-center trial to evaluate the usefulness of severity-based treatment in Japanese patients with myeloperoxidase-anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (MPO-ANCA)-associated vasculitis. Patients with MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis received a severity-based...
To delineate the clinical characteristics of neuro-Behçet’s disease (NBD), a multicenter retrospective survey was performed in BD patients who had presented any neurological manifestations between 1988 and 2008. The diagnosis of acute NBD, chronic progressive (CP) NBD, and non-NBD was confirmed by retrospective review of clinical records. Data on a total of 144 patients were...