BACKGROUND AND AIMS Treatment of complex perianal fistulas associated with Crohn's disease is challenging. In adults, seton drainage combined with infliximab therapy has proven to be more effective than either one alone. Results following such treatment among pediatric patients have not been reported previously. The aim of this study was to describe outcomes after combined seton and infliximab ...

BACKGROUND Crohn's disease is associated with low bone mineral density and altered bone metabolism. AIM To assess the evolution of bone metabolism in Crohn's disease patients treated with infliximab. METHODS We studied 71 Crohn's disease patients treated for the first time with infliximab for refractory Crohn's disease. Biochemical markers of bone formation (type-I procollagen N-terminal pr...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of infliximab for the treatment of extrapulmonary sarcoidosis. A prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted, with infliximab at 3 and 5 mg x kg(-1) body weight administered over 24 weeks. Extrapulmonary organ severity was determined by a novel severity tool (extrapulmonary physician organ severity to...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether infliximab can be used in combination with cyclosporin A (CsA) in patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who cannot tolerate methotrexate (MTX). MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighteen patients with refractory RA receiving low dose CsA (2 mg/kg/day) and prednisone (5 mg/day) were treated with intravenous infliximab. The patients were given infliximab (3 mg/...

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with infliximab (Remicade) has been associated with the induction of antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) and anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) autoantibodies. In the present study we investigated the humoral immune response induced by infliximab against organ-specific or non-organ-specific antigens not only in RA patients but also in patients with ankylos...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) monoclonal antibody (infliximab) in the treatment of spondyloarthropathy (SpA) associated with active and inactive Crohn's disease (CD). METHODS Twenty four patients with SpA associated with active or inactive CD (16 active, 8 quiescent) were treated with anti-TNFalpha monoclonal antibody (infl...

OBJECTIVES To assess the incidence of infusion reactions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving infliximab treatment with and without betamethasone premedication. To determine whether patients with an atopic diathesis had a better response to corticosteroid pretreatment than those without, and the course of patients' functional capacity and quality of life. PATIENTS AND METHODS ...

PURPOSE To investigate the efficacy of early infliximab use and to follow the progress of pediatric cases of Crohn's disease for 3 years. METHODS We reviewed the medical records of 28 pediatric patients who had been treated with infliximab for Crohn's disease. Eighteen patients (the 'top-down' group) received infliximab and azathioprine for induction and maintenance therapy for the first year...

OBJECTIVE Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists is highly effective, but their mechanisms of action are not completely clear. Since anti-TNF therapy induces a decrease in synovial cellularity, this study focused on the modulation of RA synovial apoptosis following treatment with either soluble TNF receptor (etanercept) or TNF chimeric monoclonal ant...