Vol.21 No.4

Case Report

Tocilizumab, a humanized anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody, ameliorated clinical symptoms and MRI findings of a patient with ankylosing spondylitis

Authors

Yoshihito Shima1 , Tetsuya Tomita2 , Taeko Ishii1 , Atsuyoshi Morishima1 , Yuichi Maeda3 , Atsushi Ogata1 , Tadamitsu Kishimoto4 , Toshio Tanaka1

  • Department of Respiratory Medicine, Allergy and Rheumatic Diseases, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamada-oka, Suita Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
  • Department of Orthopaedics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan
  • Department of Rheumatology, National Hospital Organization, Osaka Minami Medical Center, Osaka, Japan
  • Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Osaka University Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka, Japan
Received:

17 December 2010

Accepted:

13 January 2011

Published online:

9 February 2011

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Abstract

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory osteoarticular disease. Although the etiology remains unknown, proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin-6, have been implicated in the development of AS. Here, we report that a patient with AS, whose disease had been refractory to conventional treatment regimens and who needed to receive continuous corticosteroid, responded well to tocilizumab. While further clinical evaluation is required, tocilizumab may be an optional treatment for AS.

Key words

Ankylosing spondylitis - IL-6 - Tocilizumab