Safety of rituximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Reumatoidni artritis kronična je sistemska bolest u kojoj liječenje biološkim lijekovima usmjerenim na TNF ili B stanice je dugotrajno zbog kontrole aktivnosti bolesti. Rituximab je kimerično monoklonsko protutijelo usmjereno na antigen CD20 koji se nalazi na B limfocitima. Vežući se na CD20 dovodi do deplecije B limfocita. Pri dugoročnoj primjeni rituximaba i pri ponavljanim ciklusima lijeka, stopa infekcija je stabilna. Također, pri dugoročnoj primjeni rituksimaba stopa malignoma konzistentna je onoj u općoj populaciji. Sigurnost (neškodljivost) dugoročne primjene rituksimaba očituje se i nepovećanjem stope ozbiljnih infekcija. Zaključno, rituksimab je učinkovit lijek dobrog sigurnosnog profila.RA is a chronic disease and long-term use of treatments that target TNF or B cells will be required for continued disease control. One approach to targeting B cells in RA is the use of rituximab. It is a genetically engineered chimeric monoclonal antibody that selectively depletes peripheral B lymphocytes by binding CD20 on the cell surface. Long-term safety data show that rituximab treatment is associated with rates of infections and serious infections that remain stable over multiple treatment courses. Also, is associated with rates of malignancy consistent with data from the general RA population and is not associated with an increase in the rate of serious infections in patients who receive subsequent biologic treatment. In conclusion, rituximab is generally safe and well tolerated