Anti-TNF therapy for other inflammatory conditions

Abstract

The use of biological agents in inflammatory conditions is rapidly increasing. TNFalpha blocking treatments have changed the course of rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Open label studies with TNFalpha inhibitors in other inflammatory conditions such as adult Still's disease, uveitis, Wegener's granulomatosis, Behçet's disease, scleroderma, Sjögren's syndrome, sarcoidosis, pyoderma gangrenosum, polymyositis/dermatomyositis have shown promising results. However, whether anti-TNFalpha therapy can be safely and efficaciously applied to these other inflammatory disorders requires further controlled studies.