Reply to: Comment on 'Comparison of MMP-3 levels in rheumatoid arthritis after treatment with tocilizumab or infliximab for 12 weeks' by Yokoe et al.

摘要

We appreciate the remarks by Dr. Nagashima and other reviewers. We reanalyzed the effects of the biologies on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 levels according to whether or not the patients were receiving prednisolone. At baseline, there were no significant differences in MMP-3 levels between patients receiving and not receiving prednisolone in either the tocilizumab (TCZ) group or the infliximab (IFX) group (Tables 1, 2). The dose of prednisolone was maintained without change over the 12-week treatment period. During the treatment period, patients in both the TCZ and IFX groups who were not receiving prednisolone showed a significant decrease in MMP-3 levels from baseline.