To the Editor:
Rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody directed against CD20 on B cells, is effective to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Reports on the efficacy of rituximab in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) describe good results1,2,3, while there is no evidence that active inflammation on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the spine or sacroiliac joints might be suppressed after treatment with rituximab. We describe a patient with AS receiving rituximab who showed improvement in clinical outcomes as well as MRI findings.
A 20-year-old man was diagnosed with AS (HLA-B27-positive) in 2006. He had inflammatory lower back pain, bilateral sacroiliitis (radiological grade II), and left knee arthritis, and did not experience uveitis. His treatment consisted of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) and sulfasalazine, and still he continued to …
Address correspondence to Dr. J. Tang; E-mail: tangjp6568{at}yahoo.com