RESEARCH - Infection risk with anti-TNF therapy

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Arthritis Foundation

Research Update

July-August 2007

Infection Risk with Anti-TNF Therapy

The advent of tumor necrosis factor-á (TNF-á) antagonists has been

lifesaving and lifestyle-saving for many people with rheumatoid

arthritis (RA). The use of these biologic drugs is now expanding to

treat other diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis,

psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and juvenile arthritis.

What Problem Was Studied?

People with serious inflammatory diseases, like RA, often get

infections. These infections may be related either to the underlying

disease or to medications taken as treatment. Several recent studies

examining the effect of TNF-á antagonist therapy on infection risk

have yielded conflicting results. To address the uncertainties of the

risk of infection, a team of scientists from the University of Alabama

at Birmingham and the Center for Health Care Policy and Evaluation in

Eden Prairie, Minn., conducted a study of people with RA enrolled in a

large health care organization. They sought to compare the infection

rates of those who received methotrexate (a non-biologic

disease-modifying antirheumatic drug) versus those who received

anti-TNF therapy.

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Read the entire article here:

http://www.arthritis.org/anti-tnf-infection-risk.php

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