OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical relevance of increased circulating cytokines in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) after long-term followup. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional evaluation of 54 patients with biopsy-proven GCA prospectively followed for a median of 5.4 years (range 4-10.5 years). GCA-related complications, vascular events, relapses, current prednisone dose, time required to achieve a maintenance prednisone dosage <10 mg/day, cumulated prednisone at that point, and adverse effects during followup were recorded. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) were determined by immunoassay. RESULTS: All patients were in clinical remission. Both cytokines were significantly higher in patients than in controls (mean +/- SD 21 +/- 35 versus 5 +/- 11 pg/ml; P < 0.001 for IL-6 and mean +/- SD 32 +/- 14 versus 16 +/- 9 pg/ml; P < 0.001 for TNFalpha). No differences were found in patients with or without GCA-related complications or vascular events during followup. Circulating cytokines were significantly higher in patients who had experienced relapses (mean +/- SD 25 +/- 39 versus 10 +/- 11 pg/ml; P = 0.04 for IL-6 and mean +/- SD 34 +/- 15 versus 25 +/- 11 pg/ml; P = 0.042 for TNFalpha). IL-6 was significantly higher in patients still requiring prednisone (mean +/- SD 29 +/- 45 versus 13 +/- 17 pg/ml; P = 0.008), and TNFalpha correlated with cumulated prednisone dose (r = 0.292, P = 0.04). No significant relationship was found between elevated cytokines and prednisone adverse effects or patients' quality of life. CONCLUSION: Circulating TNFalpha and IL-6 may persist elevated in GCA patients after long-term followup and remain higher in patients who have experienced more relapsing disease. However, in this patient cohort, elevated circulating cytokines were not associated with increased frequency of GCA complications, vascular events, or treatment-related side effects.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical relevance of increased circulating cytokines in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) after long-term followup. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional evaluation of 54 patients with biopsy-proven GCA prospectively followed for a median of 5.4 years (range 4-10.5 years). GCA-related complications, vascular events, relapses, current prednisone dose, time required to achieve a maintenance prednisone dosage <10 mg/day, cumulated prednisone at that point, and adverse effects during followup were recorded. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) were determined by immunoassay. RESULTS: All patients were in clinical remission. Both cytokines were significantly higher in patients than in controls (mean +/- SD 21 +/- 35 versus 5 +/- 11 pg/ml; P < 0.001 for IL-6 and mean +/- SD 32 +/- 14 versus 16 +/- 9 pg/ml; P < 0.001 for TNFalpha). No differences were found in patients with or without GCA-related complications or vascular events during followup. Circulating cytokines were significantly higher in patients who had experienced relapses (mean +/- SD 25 +/- 39 versus 10 +/- 11 pg/ml; P = 0.04 for IL-6 and mean +/- SD 34 +/- 15 versus 25 +/- 11 pg/ml; P = 0.042 for TNFalpha). IL-6 was significantly higher in patients still requiring prednisone (mean +/- SD 29 +/- 45 versus 13 +/- 17 pg/ml; P = 0.008), and TNFalpha correlated with cumulated prednisone dose (r = 0.292, P = 0.04). No significant relationship was found between elevated cytokines and prednisone adverse effects or patients' quality of life. CONCLUSION: Circulating TNFalpha and IL-6 may persist elevated in GCA patients after long-term followup and remain higher in patients who have experienced more relapsing disease. However, in this patient cohort, elevated circulating cytokines were not associated with increased frequency of GCA complications, vascular events, or treatment-related side effects.
Authors: Tanaz A Kermani; Kenneth J Warrington; David Cuthbertson; Simon Carette; Gary S Hoffman; Nader A Khalidi; Curry L Koening; Carol A Langford; Kathleen Maksimowicz-McKinnon; Carol A McAlear; Paul A Monach; Philip Seo; Peter A Merkel; Steven R Ytterberg Journal: J Rheumatol Date: 2015-04-15 Impact factor: 4.666
Authors: Dan Pugh; Maira Karabayas; Neil Basu; Maria C Cid; Ruchika Goel; Carl S Goodyear; Peter C Grayson; Stephen P McAdoo; Justin C Mason; Catherine Owen; Cornelia M Weyand; Taryn Youngstein; Neeraj Dhaun Journal: Nat Rev Dis Primers Date: 2022-01-06 Impact factor: 65.038
Authors: Tanaz A Kermani; David Cuthbertson; Simon Carette; Gary S Hoffman; Nader A Khalidi; Curry L Koening; Carol A Langford; Kathleen McKinnon-Maksimowicz; Carol A McAlear; Paul A Monach; Philip Seo; Kenneth J Warrington; Steven R Ytterberg; Peter A Merkel; Eric L Matteson Journal: J Rheumatol Date: 2016-04-01 Impact factor: 4.666
Authors: Sebastian H Unizony; Bhaskar Dasgupta; Elena Fisheleva; Lucy Rowell; Georg Schett; Robert Spiera; Jochen Zwerina; Olivier Harari; John H Stone Journal: Int J Rheumatol Date: 2013-04-07
Authors: Sudha Visvanathan; Mahboob U Rahman; Gary S Hoffman; Stephen Xu; Ana García-Martínez; Marta Segarra; Ester Lozano; Georgina Espígol-Frigolé; José Hernández-Rodríguez; Maria C Cid Journal: Rheumatology (Oxford) Date: 2011-08-25 Impact factor: 7.580