OBJECTIVES To evaluate the risk of septic arthritis (SA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) therapy. METHODS Using data from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register, a prospective observational study, the authors compared the risk of SA between 11 881 anti-TNF-treated and 3673 non-biological disease-modifying antirheumatic...

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is implicated in the control of tumoral growth in addition to the systemic inflammatory response. TNF blockage produces a comprensible reservation in patients with risk factors for cancer. No clear evidence for this came out from pre-clinical or clinical trials. Biosafety registries established in the post-marketing phase have concluded that, in general, cancer cases...

BACKGROUND Randomised trials have demonstrated that the efficacy of anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents is significantly increased by concomitant methotrexate (MTX) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In clinical routine, anti-TNF agents are commonly prescribed with other disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) than MTX, however their effectiveness in combination with anti-TNF agents is n...

OBJECTIVES Small studies have shown an improvement in disease activity in patients with RA who have switched between anti-TNF therapies for reasons of inefficacy. However, it is not clear whether switching improves longer term outcomes, such as disability. This analysis compares changes in HAQ scores 1 yr following lack of response to a first anti-TNF based on subsequent treatment during that y...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Although individual contributions of TNF-α, LOX-1 and adiponectin to the regulation of endothelial function were previously studied, their interactions in the regulation of coronary endothelial function remain unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate the interactions between TNF-α, LOX-1 and adiponectin in endothelial dysfunction in atherosclerosis. METHODS Vasodilator...

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antibodies are successfully used in the therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). However, the molecular mechanism of action of these agents is still a matter of debate. Apart from neutralization of TNF, influence on the intestinal barrier function, induction of apoptosis in mucosal immune cells, formation of regulatory macrophages as well as other immune mo...

BACKGROUND In the intestinal tract, the role of sympathetic neurotransmitters has been largely ignored in mucosal neuroimmunology. AIM Our aim was to investigate the influence of the sympathetic microenvironment on the mucosal interplay of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). METHODS Colon strips of normal and colitic BALB/c mice were superfused in vitro. Tissue was electr...

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common gastrointestinal disease of premature infants. However, despite significant morbidity and mortality, the etiology and pathogenesis of NEC are poorly understood. Evidence suggests that ileal proinflammatory mediators such as IL-18 contribute to the pathology associated with this disease. In addition, we have previously shown that upregulation of...