ROME -- Most children with systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) achieved what may be a permanent remission when they started anakinra (Kineret) treatment just weeks after symptoms began, according to a small study reported here.
Eleven of the 13 study patients obtained a 90% symptom reduction according to American College of Rheumatology pediatric criteria (ACRPed90) within three weeks of starting therapy with the anakinra, reported Sebastiaan Vastert, MD, of University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands.
At a poster session here at the European League Against Rheumatism meeting, Vastert said all 11 children remained essentially in remission at the most recent follow-up, one year after starting anakinra therapy.
Anakinra is a peptide drug that blocks the interleukin-1 receptor. Dosing was weight-adjusted based on the standard adult dose of 100 mg subcutaneously daily. Children in the study had not previously received steroid treatment.
Vastert said the findings suggested that early anakinra treatment may "change the biology" of the disease, raising the possibility of an actual "cure."
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/Arthritis/20818