Biologic agents in systemic vasculitis

Biologic agents in systemic vasculitis.

The treatment of systemic necrotizing vasculitis has made great strides in both efficacy and outcomes. Standard therapies, however, are associated with numerous side effects, and not all patients will respond to conventional immunosuppression. These realities have prompted the search for safer and more efficacious treatments, most notably among biologic agents. For example, the role of TNF-α in...

Biologic Agents for the Treatment of Systemic Vasculitis

Advances in the use of biologic agents for the treatment of systemic vasculitis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Due to the well known toxicities of cyclophosphamide, substantial interest exists in finding other therapies to treat primary systemic vasculitis. Biologic agents have been proposed as an alternative to cyclophosphamide for these disorders because of their recent success in treating other rheumatic diseases. This article reviews the current state-of-the-art therapy with regard...

Biologic therapy in primary systemic vasculitis of the young.

OBJECTIVES To describe the biologic treatment regimens and report the efficacy and safety of biologic therapies in a multicentre series of children with primary systemic vasculitis (PSV). METHODS This was a retrospective descriptive case series of children with PSV treated with biologic therapy between February 2002 and November 2007. Primary retrospective outcome assessment measures were: da...

The role of biologic therapies in the management of systemic vasculitis.

The recent development of biologic therapies capable of selectively targeting components of the immune system has revolutionised the treatment of inflammatory arthritides. The steady increase in use of biologic agents coupled with the expansion in the knowledge of the pathogenesis of vascular inflammation has led to their application in the treatment of primary systemic vasculitis. These agents...