An extra dose of rituximab improves clinical response in rheumatoid arthritis patients with initial incomplete B cell depletion: a randomized controlled trial
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An extra dose of rituximab improves clinical response in rheumatoid arthritis patients with initial incomplete B cell depletion: a randomized controlled trial
Key Take-Away:
Rituximab is a biological therapy for Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) which reduces joint pain and swelling by removing B cells, responsible for inflammation. In this study, the investigators were able to produce fruitful results with an extra dose of rituximab to the RA patients with incomplete B cell depletion.
Since clinical non-response to 2×1000 mg rituximab has previously been found to be associated with incomplete B cell depletion, we determined, in a randomized controlled proof of concept study, whether patients with initial incomplete B cell depletion would benefit from an additional infusion of rituximab at week 4.
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Ann Rheum Dis 2015; 74:1195-1201