title: Therapeutic effectiveness of minimal doses of rituximab in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: We report the case of a man suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, resistant to common DMARDs and anti-TNF-alpha, who received an excellent response, in terms of effectiveness and depletion of CD20 positive B-lymphocytes, to minimal doses of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (rituximab). The dose used was only 100 mg, repeated after 2 weeks. Already after the first infusion of rituximab, a profound depletion of CD20 B-lymphocytes and an improvement of clinical symptoms were evident. The patient, after 4 months from the first two infusions, maintained an accentuated lymphocyte depletion and obtained a low disease activity, passing from an initial DAS28 of 6.3 to a DAS28 of 2.8. The possible practical implications of this observation are taken into consideration.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bruzzese
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000069283:Rituximab
chemical_list: D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D000069283:Rituximab