Antiphospholipid antibodies during 6-month treatment with infliximab: A preliminary report

摘要

BackgroundThe introduction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists (adalimumab, infliximab, and etanercept) was a major advance and was highly important and beneficial in most rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The adverse effects of this treatment are infrequent, but include opportunistic intracellular infection (especially the reactivation of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis); exacerbation of demyelinating disorders; and the production of various types of antibodies such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA) or double-stranded DNA autoantibodies (dsDNA) and antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) such as anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL) and anti-B2GP-I antibodies (B2GP-I). The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of aCL and B2GP-I in IgM and IgG classes, using ELISA tests, during 6 months of follow-up in patients with refractory RA successfully treated with infliximab.