Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2001 Mar;18(1):70-4.

Infliximab for refractory sarcoidosis

R P Baughman  1 , E E Lower
Affiliations
  • PMID: 11354550
Clinical Trial

Infliximab for refractory sarcoidosis

R P Baughman et al. Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis. 2001 Mar.

Erratum in

  • Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2001 Oct;18(3):310

Abstract

Background and aim of work: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) appears to be an important cytokine in the inflammation of sarcoidosis. Infliximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody which specifically inhibits TNF-alpha. We investigated the efficacy of infliximab for the therapy of chronic, resistant sarcoidosis.

Methods: Patients with persistent symptomatic sarcoidosis despite corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents were selected for treatment with infliximab. Patients were treated initially and at 2, 4, and 12 weeks with 5 mg/kg of infliximab at each treatment. Index lesions, which had progressed despite corticosteroid therapy, were reevaluated at 16 weeks.

Results: Three patients were treated. In two patients, the index lesion was lupus pernio, which significantly improved with infliximab. The third patient had restrictive lung disease. At week 16, there was a 26% improvement in the vital capacity from pretreatment values. All patients tolerated the treatments well.

Conclusions: Infliximab was associated with significant improvement in chronic sarcoidosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources