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[Treatment of connective tissue diseases with biological agents]

A So1

  • 1Service de rhumatologie, Département de l'appareil locomoteur, Hôpital orthopédique, CHUV, 1011 Lausanne. AlexanderKai-Lik.So@chuv.ch

Revue Medicale Suisse
|May 14, 2008
PubMed

As B-cells are crucial for the production of antibodies and also in antigen presentation, they can play an important role in autoimmune connective tissue disease. B-cell surface antigens and receptors which are capable of activating B-cell function have been proposed as targets for therapy in these diseases. Anti-B cell treatments have been used recently in SLE and primary Sjogren's syndrome in a number of open studies, notably anti-CD20 (rituximab), with encouraging results. An anti-BAFF antibody (belimumab) has been tested in patients with SLE and also showed positive results in patients with increased levels of autoantibodies. In contrast, anti-TNF therapy in connective tissue disease and in RA can increase the levels of autoantibodies. Further studies are needed to define the place of these novel treatments in the management of autoimmune connective tissue diseases.

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