Maffei S, Di Renzo M, Santoro S, Puccetti L, Pasqui A L
Department of Cardiology, Policlinico Le Scotte, University of Siena, Italy.
Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2009 Jan-Feb;13(1):63-5.
Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of large arteries which progressively develop stenosis, occlusion or aneurismal degeneration. Proinflammatory cytokines and, among these, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) are increased and play a pathogenetic role in the development of disease. Conventional therapy often fails to determine clinical remission and, in these cases, pathogenetic strategies with anti-TNF-alpha drugs have been proposed. Infliximab is a human-murine chimeric monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to and neutralizes soluble TNF-alpha. It is an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and it has been recently proposed for the treatment of TA in patients refractory to conventional therapy. Here we report the case of a patient affected by Takayasu arteritis unresponsive to conventional therapy who was then treated with infliximab and obtained a clinical remission of the disease.
高安动脉炎（TA）是一种累及大动脉的慢性炎症性疾病，可逐渐发展为狭窄、闭塞或动脉瘤样变性。促炎细胞因子，尤其是肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）水平升高，并在疾病发展过程中发挥致病作用。传统治疗往往无法实现临床缓解，针对这些情况，有人提出了使用抗TNF-α药物的致病治疗策略。英夫利昔单抗是一种人鼠嵌合单克隆抗体，可特异性结合并中和可溶性TNF-α。它是类风湿关节炎、脊柱关节炎、克罗恩病和溃疡性结肠炎的有效治疗药物，最近有人提议将其用于治疗对传统治疗无效的TA患者。在此，我们报告一例对传统治疗无反应的高安动脉炎患者，该患者随后接受英夫利昔单抗治疗并实现了疾病的临床缓解。
