title: A Japanese case of severe refractory adult Still's disease: serum interleukin-18 is a possible marker of the response to low-dose cyclosporin A therapy.
abstract: A 22-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a high fever, fatigue, mild arthritis, and bilateral pleural effusions. Laboratory tests revealed a high ESR, leukocytosis, high serum C-reactive protein level, and high serum ferritin level. Various antibiotics had been given by a local hospital with no response. He was diagnosed as having severe refractory adult Still's disease and was subsequently treated with high-dose steroid therapy and low-dose cyclosporin A. The serum interleukin-18 level was monitored throughout treatment and was found to be a potentially useful marker of disease activity as well as of the response to cyclosporin A therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Kyushu University Hospital, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. sawayama@genmedpr.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yasunori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sawayama
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nabeshima
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Taniai
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Furusyo
authors.forename: Seizaburo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kashiwagi
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D016706:Still's Disease, Adult-Onset / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D020382:Interleukin-18; D016572:Cyclosporine