Skip Navigation


Rheumatology Advance Access first published online on May 15, 2009
This version published online on September 15, 2009
Rheumatology, doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kep093
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary Data
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
kep093v2    most recent
kep093v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Daoussis, D.
Right arrow Articles by Andonopoulos, A. P.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Daoussis, D.
Right arrow Articles by Andonopoulos, A. P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author(s) 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Society for Rheumatology.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Experience with rituximab in scleroderma: results from a 1-year, proof-of-principle study

Dimitrios Daoussis1,*, Stamatis-Nick C. Liossis1,*, Athanassios C. Tsamandas2, Christina Kalogeropoulou3, Alexandra Kazantzi3, Chaido Sirinian2, Maria Karampetsou1, Georgios Yiannopoulos1 and Andrew P. Andonopoulos1

1Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine,2Department of Pathology and 3Department of Radiology, Patras University Hospital, University of Patras Medical School, Patras, Greece.

Correspondence to: Dimitrios Daoussis, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Patras University Hospital, 26504 Rion, Patras, Greece. E-mail: jimdaoussis{at}hotmail.com


  Abstract

Objective. To assess the efficacy of rituximab (RTX) in SSc.

Methods. Fourteen patients with SSc were evaluated. Eight patients were randomized to receive two cycles of RTX at baseline and 24 weeks [each cycle consisted of four weekly RTX infusions (375 mg/m2)] in addition to standard treatment, whereas six patients (control group) received standard treatment alone. Lung involvement was assessed by pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and chest high-resolution CT (HRCT). Skin involvement was assessed both clinically and histologically.

Results. There was a significant increase of forced vital capacity (FVC) in the RTX group compared with baseline (mean ± S.D.: 68.13 ± 19.69 vs 75.63 ± 19.73, at baseline vs 1-year, respectively, P = 0.0018). The median percentage of improvement of FVC in the RTX group was 10.25%, whereas that of deterioration in the controls was 5.04% (P = 0.002). Similarly, diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO) increased significantly in the RTX group compared with baseline (mean ± S.D.: 52.25 ± 20.71 vs 62 ± 23.21, at baseline vs 1-year respectively, P = 0.017). The median percentage of improvement of DLCO in the RTX group was 19.46%, whereas that of deterioration in the control group was 7.5% (P = 0.023). Skin thickening, assessed with the Modified Rodnan Skin Score (MRSS), improved significantly in the RTX group compared with the baseline score (mean ± S.D.: 13.5 ± 6.84 vs 8.37 ± 6.45 at baseline vs 1-year, respectively, P < 0.001).

Conclusion. Our results indicate that RTX may improve lung function in patients with SSc. To confirm our encouraging results we propose that larger scale, multicentre studies with longer evaluation periods are needed.

KEY WORDS: Scleroderma, Systemic sclerosis, Rituximab, Interstitial lung disease, Fibrosis, B cells

*Dimitrios Daoussis and Stamatis-Nick C. Liossis contributed equally to this work.

Submitted 23 January 2009; revised version accepted 19 March 2009.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.