Canakinumab Treatment Effective for Familial Mediterranean Fever

The case series suggests the effect of a single dose of canakinumab appears quite quickly. The authors note that although the additive immunosuppressive effect of canakinumab may be a concern in this patient population, they did not observe infections in Cases 1 and 3. The second patient had recurrent urinary tract infections before and after the start of canakinumab treatment.

Lara C. Pullen, PhD, is a medical writer based in the Chicago area.

References

1. Laskari K, Boura P, Dalekos GN, et al. Long-term beneficial effect of canakinumab in colchicine-resistant familial mediterranean fever. J Rheumatol. 2017 Jan;44(1):102–109. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.160518. Epub 2016 Nov 15.
2. van der Hilst JCh, Moutschen M, Messiaen PE, et al. Efficacy of anti-IL-1 treatment in familial Mediterranean fever: a systematic review of the literature. Biologics. 2016 Apr 4;10:75–80. doi: 10.2147/BTT.S102954. eCollection 2016.
3. Yildirim T, Yilmaz R, Uzerk Kibar M, et al. Canakinumab treatment in renal transplant recipients with familial Mediterranean fever. J Nephrol. 2018 Feb 14. doi: 10.1007/s40620-018-0475-5. [Epub ahead of print]