Mosca Marta, Tani Chiara, Filice Maria Elena, Carli Linda, Delle Sedie Andrea, Vagnani Sabrina, Della Rossa Alessandra, Baldini Chiara, Bombardieri Stefano
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Rheumatology Unit, University of Pisa , Pisa Italy.
Mod Rheumatol. 2015 Jul;25(4):642-5. doi: 10.3109/14397595.2013.844306. Epub 2013 Nov 4.
Joint involvement is a common manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is described as a non-erosive mild synovitis. However some SLE patients may present a more severe joint involvement requiring aggressive therapy. We describe the case of a SLE patient with a severe arthritis unresponsive to methotrexate, successfully treated with anti-TNF-alpha drug as induction therapy and we report the results of a systematic literature review on the use of TNF-alpha inhibitors in SLE.