Clinical efficacy of TNF-α inhibitors: an update

Abstract

Over the last decade, TNF-α antagonists became the most powerful tools for controlling patient suffering from a number of rheumatic diseases. Infliximab, etanercept and adalimumab can induce remission and prevent both clinical and radiological disease progression in rheumatoid arthritis with significant improvement in patients’ symptoms, function and quality of life. They improve joint symptoms and significantly retard radiographic progression in psoriatic arthritis. TNF-α antagonists have been demonstrated to reduce disease activity, retard radiologic progression and increase quality of life in ankylosing spondylitis patients. Long-term follow-up studies demonstrated sustained efficacy and acceptable safety profiles that were comparable in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. Etanercept is the only US FDA-approved TNF antagonist for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. TNF-α antagonists may improve some clinical manifastations of Behcet’s disases, including uveitis. Tuberculosi...