Successful treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF)-alpha of proteinuria in a patient with familial mediterranean fever (FMF) resistant to colchicine: anti-TNF drugs and FMF.

Familial mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autoinflammatory disease characterized by recurrent attacks of fever, peritonitis, pleuritis, and genetically by autosomal recessive inheritance. The major renal involvement in FMF is the occurrence of amyloidosis that can be prevented by a daily regimen of colchicine. About 5-10% of cases with familial mediterranean fever may be resistant to colchicine. In literature, there is a controversy about the treatment of FMF patients resistant to colchicine. We describe a case with FMF, proteinuria, and bilateral sacroiliitis, which responded to anti-TNF (tumor necrosis factor)-alpha therapy with infliximab and etanercept.