BACKGROUND The comparative efficacy and safety of infliximab and azathioprine therapy alone or in combination for Crohn's disease are unknown. METHODS In this randomized, double-blind trial, we evaluated the efficacy of infliximab monotherapy, azathioprine monotherapy, and the two drugs combined in 508 adults with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease who had not undergone previous immunosuppres...

BACKGROUND Infliximab shows good efficacy in treating refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, many patients responded poorly and related studies were inconsistent in predictive biomarkers. This study aimed to identify circulating biomarkers for predicting infliximab response in RA. MATERIAL AND METHODS Public databases of Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and ArrayExpress were searched for r...

PURPOSE To determine whether infliximab may be used safely as an intraocular drug, the ocular safety of intravitreal infliximab in rabbits was studied by clinical examination, electroretinography (ERG), and histology in rabbits. METHODS Twelve New Zealand albino rabbits were selected for this study. Different infliximab doses, namely 1.0 mg, 1.7 mg, and 3.3 mg in 0.1 mL, were injected intravi...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This was a multicenter study to evaluate the usefulness of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) blocker infliximab for treatment of Korean pediatric patients with refractory Kawasaki disease (KD). SUBJECTS AND METHODS Data from 16 patients throughout Korea who were diagnosed with refractory KD and received infliximab were collected retrospectively. RESULTS C...

Background: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a chronic ulcerating skin condition that often occurs in association with inflammatory bowel disease. There have been a number of reports of PG responding to infliximab, a monoclonal antibody against tumour necrosis factor a. Aim: In the first randomised placebo controlled trial of any drug for the treatment of PG, we have studied the role of infliximab ...

BACKGROUND The Infliximab, has proven effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A good clinical response is usually associated with high serum drug levels. Development of antibodies toward Infliximab (ATI) can increase drug clearance, leading to treatment failure. AIMS To analyze whether serum Infliximab trough levels (ITL) at the induction phase are associated with Infliximab clearanc...

of infliximab failure after azathioprine withdrawal in Crohn's disease treated with combination therapy. T he recently published article by Oussalah et al reports a retrospective analysis of a single-center cohort of 48 patients with luminal Crohn's disease (CD) treated by combined therapy with infliximab and azathioprine for at least 6 months and who then stopped azathioprine after a mean of 3...

INTRODUCTION This study is based on the results from a Belgian expanded access program in which patients with active refractory and erosive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were treated with intravenous infusions of infliximab in combination with methotrexate. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the continuation rate of infliximab and its clinical effect over a 7-year period and to document ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate how antibodies against anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents influence response after switching from infliximab to adalimumab in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS This cohort study consisted of 235 patients with RA, all treated with adalimumab. At baseline 52 patients (22%) had been previously treated with infliximab ('switchers'), and 183 (78%) were anti-TNF...

We read with interest the article by Eshuis et al., ‘Previous infliximab therapy and postoperative complications after proctocolectomy with ileum pouch anal anastomosis’.1 The authors conducted a retrospective study evaluating patients who underwent pouch surgery for ulcerative colitis (UC). One-stage procedures (n=33; proctocolectomy with pouch, with or without temporary diversion) and two-sta...