BACKGROUND RA patients being treated with biologics are known to have an increased risk of infections. We recently demonstrated that both CTLA4 Ig and anti-TNF treatment aggravate systemic Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection in mice, but with distinct clinical manifestations. However, the effects of CTLA4 Ig and anti-TNF treatments on a local S. aureus infection (e.g., skin infection) m...

BACKGROUND Anti-TNF agents have proven efficacy in children with severe juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) who are unresponsive to standard therapy. Therefore pain reduction or elimination could be expected. The aim of this study was to compare the pain experience in children with JIA treated with anti-TNF agents (n = 41) or non-biologic standard treatment (n = 50). METHODS All children comp...

BACKGROUND In patients treated with TNF-antagonists, incident cases of tuberculosis (TB) after a negative screening have been reported, leading to the suggestion that improved TB testing is necessary. AIM The aim of the current study is to establish the incidence of TB and its characteristics in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) under TNF antagonists to design improved prevention...

BACKGROUND Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) inhibitors, such as infliximab, adalimumab, and certolizumab pegol are effective agents in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Some individuals undergoing anti-TNF-α therapy for Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis develop psoriasiform lesions. This is a paradoxical finding, as classical psoriasis is known to respond to these agents. PURPOS...

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays an essential role in the immunologic maintenance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Although an increased rate of tuberculosis has been reported in humans treated with anti-TNF biological agents, disparate rates of disease have been observed between those treated with infliximab, an anti-TNF antibody, and etanercept, a TNF-neutralizing TNF receptor (TNFR)...