RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Safety and Efficacy of Rituximab in Severe Juvenile Dermatomyositis: Results from 9 Patients from the French Autoimmunity and Rituximab Registry
JF The Journal of Rheumatology
JO J Rheumatol
FD The Journal of Rheumatology
SP 1436
OP 1440
DO 10.3899/jrheum.101321
VO 38
IS 7
A1 BRIGITTE BADER-MEUNIER
A1 HÉLÈNE DECALUWE
A1 CHRISTINE BARNERIAS
A1 ROMAIN GHERARDI
A1 PIERRE QUARTIER
A1 ALBERT FAYE
A1 VINCENT GUIGONIS
A1 ANNE PAGNIER
A1 KARINE BROCHARD
A1 JEAN SIBILIA
A1 JACQUES-ERIC GOTTENBERG
A1 CHRISTINE BODEMER
YR 2011
UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/38/7/1436.abstract
AB Objective. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of rituximab (RTX) in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) in off-trial patients. Methods. We conducted a multicenter prospective study of patients with JDM included in the French Autoimmunity and Rituximab (AIR) registry. Results. Nine patients with severe JDM were studied. The main indication for RTX treatment was severe and/or refractory muscle involvement (7 patients), severe calcinosis (1 patient), or severe chronic abdominal pain associated with abdominal lipomatosis (1 patient). RTX was associated with corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs, and plasma exchange therapy in 9/9, 5/9, and 2/9 patients, respectively. Mild infections of the calcinosis sites occurred in 2 patients and an infusion-related event in 1. Complete clinical response was achieved in 3/6 patients treated with RTX for muscle involvement. In these responders steroid therapy was stopped or tapered to < 15% of the baseline dosage, with no relapse, with a followup ranging from 1.3 to 3 years. Calcinosis did not improve in the 6 affected patients. Conclusion. This small series suggests that rituximab may be effective for treating muscle and skin involvement in a small subset of children with severe JDM, and that its safety profile was satisfactory. Further studies are needed to identify predictive factors of response to RTX in patients with severe JDM.