Association between IL-6 production in synovial explants from rheumatoid arthritis patients and clinical and imaging response to biologic treatment: A pilot study
Martin Andersen, Mikael Boesen, Karen Ellegaard, Kalle Söderström, Niels H. Søe, Pieter Spee, Ulrik G. W. Mørch, Søren Torp-Pedersen, Else M. Bartels, Bente Danneskiold-Samsøe, Lars Karlsson, Henning Bliddal
The use of biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) significantly changed the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), however only 15 percent of these patients ever achieve remission. Thus, predicting patient responses to treatment and achieving disease control remains great challenges in RA. One possible solution put forth by the authors is the use of explants, in vitro culturing, of synovial tissue. This study examined the effects of bDMARDs on baseline RA synovial explants production of IL-6 with each individual’s clinical response to the same bDMARDs.