Reduction of fatigue in Sjogren syndrome with rituximab: results of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Authors
Colleges, School and Institutes
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) causes significant systemic symptoms including fatigue as well as glandular dysfunction. There are currently no effective systemic therapies; however, open label series have suggested that rituximab may be beneficial for systemic and glandular manifestations. Therefore, we performed a double blind, placebo-controlled, randomised pilot study of the efficacy of rituximab in reducing fatigue in pSS. METHODS: A total of 17 patients with pSS and a score on fatigue visual analogue scale (VAS) >50 were randomised to receive either 2 infusions of rituximab 1 g or placebo; patients also received oral and intravenous steroids. Outcome measures included: the proportion of patients with >20% reduction in fatigue VAS, changes in pSS related symptoms, health related quality of life and immunological parameters of pSS. These were measured 6 months after therapy. RESULTS: There was significant improvement from baseline in fatigue VAS in the rituximab group (p
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1541-1544 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases |
Volume | 67 |
Issue number | 11 |
Early online date | 29 Nov 2007 |
Publication status | Published - 29 Nov 2007 |