The rapid efficacy of abatacept in a patient with rheumatoid vasculitis.

Abstract

We report a case of rheumatoid vasculitis (RV) that responded well to abatacept, a cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA4)-immunoglobulin fusion protein. A 38-year-old woman developed RV despite treatment with methotrexate and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. The effects of steroid therapy, immunoabsorption plasmapheresis, and interleukin-6 inhibitor were insufficient, however, administration of abatacept rapidly improved her clinical symptoms with almost normalization of the immunological findings. This is the first published case report of the successful treatment of RV with abatacept.

• Authors: Wataru Fujii, Masataka Kohno, Hidetaka Ishino, Amane Nakabayashi, Kazuki Fujioka, Takashi Kida, Hidetake Nagahara, Ken Murakami, Kaoru Nakamura, Takahiro Seno, Aihiro Yamamoto, Yutaka Kawahito
• Journal: Modern rheumatology (Mod Rheumatol) Vol. 22 Issue 4 Pg. 630-4 (Aug 2012) ISSN: 1439-7609 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 22124545 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antirheumatic Agents
• Glucocorticoids
• Immunoconjugates
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• Abatacept
• Methotrexate

Topics

• Abatacept
• Adult
• Antirheumatic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Drug Substitution
• Female
• Glucocorticoids
• Health Status
• Humans
• Immunoconjugates (therapeutic use)
• Methotrexate (therapeutic use)
• Plasmapheresis
• Remission Induction
• Rheumatoid Vasculitis (diagnosis, drug therapy, physiopathology)
• Severity of Illness Index
• Treatment Failure
• Treatment Outcome
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (antagonists & inhibitors)