Long-term efficacy of rituximab in hepatitis C virus-associated cryoglobulinemia

Autor: Maria Lucia Gomes Ferraz, Antonio Eduardo Benedito Silva, Silvia Naomi de Oliveira Uehara, Patricia da Silva Fucuta Pereira, Ivonete Sandra de Souza e Silva, Lara B. Lemos
Rok vydání: 2009
Předmět:
Zdroj: Rheumatology International. 30:1515-1518
ISSN: 1437-160X
0172-8172
DOI: 10.1007/s00296-009-1106-1
Popis: Mixed cryoglobulinemia is one of the most closely related extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis C virus and requires a challenging therapeutic approach depending on the severity of the symptoms. Here, we describe the long-term follow-up of a patient with important cutaneous, articular and neural manifestations of cryoglobulinemia associated with chronic hepatitis C treated with rituximab. A 42-year-old woman who did not respond to previous interferon-based treatments (standard and pegylated interferon plus ribavirin) and corticosteroids was subjected to treatment with rituximab at a dose of 375 mg/m(2) per week for 4 consecutive weeks. The drug was well tolerated and complete improvement of arthralgia was immediately evident. There was gradual improvement of lower limbs paresthesia and healing of a leg ulcer that had been active for 5 years. The clinical and immunological responses induced by rituximab are sustained over long-term follow-up, and this case illustrates the drug efficacy for non-responder patients to antiviral therapy.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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