Related Experiment Videos
Proinflammatory cytokines
1Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262, USA.
Chest
|August 11, 2000
Summary
Blocking harmful proinflammatory cytokines like IL-1 and TNF shows promise for inflammatory diseases but has not significantly improved survival rates in septic shock patients.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- Cytokines regulate host responses to infection, inflammation, and trauma.
- Proinflammatory cytokines, such as Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF), exacerbate disease.
- Anti-inflammatory cytokines promote healing and reduce inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the concept and therapeutic potential of proinflammatory cytokines.
- To examine strategies for blocking harmful cytokines in various conditions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of published studies.
- Analysis of clinical trial data involving anticytokine therapies.
Main Results:
- Blocking IL-1 and TNF has shown success in rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and graft-vs-host disease.
- Anticytokine therapies (e.g., neutralizing antibodies, soluble receptors) have been tested in over 10,000 patients.
- While anticytokine therapy showed a small, non-significant increase in 28-day survival rates (2-3%), it was not effective in sepsis.
Conclusions:
- Anticytokine therapy holds potential for patients with deteriorating conditions.
- Identifying patients who would benefit from anticytokine therapy for septic shock remains challenging.