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Kineret may treat some patients with colchicine-resistant familial Mediterranean fever

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Some patients with familial Mediterranean fever who had a poor response to treatment with colchicine may benefit from Kineret, according to recently presented data.

Researchers in Istanbul studied 30 patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) who were treated with Kineret (anakinra, SOBI) for colchicine resistant recurrent febrile attacks (n = 19) amyloidosis (n = 7) and colchicine-related side effects (n = 4). The mean patient age was 36.34 years and the mean disease duration was 23.93 years. Comorbidities included one patient each with multiple sclerosis, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Behçet’s disease, low grade lymphoma, and four patients were pregnant. The mean Patient Global Assessment (PGA) at baseline was 8.6.

After the initiation of treatment, the mean duration of follow-up with anakinra was 13.5 months with a mean dose of 2.8 mg per day. No disease flares were reported by 23 patients following treatment, and five patients reported a decrease in the frequency of flares by 50%. The mean PGA decreased to 1.92 following treatment.

Adverse events included an increase in proteinuria in two patients with amyloidosis who discontinued the treatment. Two patients discontinued treatment due to infections, and three patients had a severe allergic reaction, including one severe disseminating rash and two severe injection site reactions. One patient reported the worsening of psoriatic lesions while 22 patients reported no adverse events. – by Shirley Pulawski

Reference:

Ugurlu S, et al. Paper #THU0568. Presented at: European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. June 10-13, 2015; Rome.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.