title: [Cytokines and their antagonists in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis].
abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease involving synovium and periarticular tissues, often with several systemic manifestations. Proinflammatory cytokines play an important role in promoting inflammatory responses and articular tissue destruction. Presence of anti-inflammatory cytokines in rheumatoid synovium seems to be too low to effectively neutralize their action. In this review we describe the possibilities of the alternative treatment strategies modifying the balance of cytokine network, in the RA patients, towards anti-inflammatory state. Several trials, in which the action of proinflammatory cytokines was inhibited with their specific inhibitors or with anti-inflammatory cytokines, have shown significant clinical benefits.
authors.affiliation: Klinika Reumatologii i Chorób Wewnetrznych, Akademii Medycznej, 15-276 Białystok, ul. Skłodowskiej-Curie 24a. klimp@amb.edu.pl
authors.forename: Piotr A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Klimiuk
authors.forename: Stanisław
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sierakowski
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D016207:Cytokines / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D007378:Interleukins / Q000378:metabolism; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D007378:Interleukins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor