Tocilizumab Decreases Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Rheumatoid

Tocilizumab Decreases Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Rheumatoid Ar
Published on Rheumatology Network
(http://www.rheumatologynetwork.com)
Tocilizumab Decreases Left Ventricular Dysfunction in
Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
News [1] | October 28, 2015 | Rheumatoid Arthritis [2]
By Deborah Abrams Kaplan [3]
Tocilizumab associated with left ventricular dysfunction in RA patients, correlating with a reduction
in RA disease activity.
While tocilizumab, an IL-6 agonist, is an FDA-certified treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, its effects on myocardial regional function hasn’t been studied with MRI. This is important because rheumatoid arthritis patients
have lower physical activity rates, possibly masking congestive heart failure (CHF) symptoms. Subclinical left ventricular dysfunction is a CHF predictor, and can be identified by noninvasive cardiac magnetic resonance
imaging (CMRI).
A small Japanese pilot study’s goal was to see if tocilizumab reduced left ventricular regional dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis patients with no history of cardiovascular disease.
The study included 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis as well as 10 healthy control subjects, also with no diagnosed cardiovascular disease. The study used all women, and subjects were all about the same age. The
rheumatoid arthritis subjects had high disease activity, with a disease duration around 30 months. That group was given tocilizumab therapy for one year. All subjects were evaluated at baseline and 52 weeks with CMRI
for left ventricular dysfunction, with the interpreting radiologists blinded to their clinical information.
Researchers found that the tocilizumab treatment was highly effective on peak systolic radial strain, improving left ventricular function in all 13 rheumatoid arthritis patients by the end of the study. At baseline, the mean
peak radial strain (Err) was 0.56 (range 0.51-0.64), while at 52 weeks it was 0.67 (range 0.59-0.76).
They also found that Err was significantly lower at baseline for the rheumatoid arthritis group compared to the control group, while at 52 weeks, the two groups weren’t significantly different. Researchers concluded that
tocilizumab improved left ventricular dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis patients, in addition to reducing their rheumatoid arthritis disease activity.
References:
Kobayashi, Yasuyuki, Kobayashi, Hitomi et al. "Association of tocilizumab treatment with changes in measures of regional left ventricular function in rheumatoid arthritis, as assessed by
cardiac magnetic resonance imaging," The International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases, 2015.
Source URL:
http://www.rheumatologynetwork.com/heart-health/tocilizumab-decreases-left-ventricular-dysfunctio
n-rheumatoid-arthritis-patients
Page 1 of 2
Tocilizumab Decreases Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Rheumatoid Ar
Published on Rheumatology Network
(http://www.rheumatologynetwork.com)
Links:
[1] http://www.rheumatologynetwork.com/news
[2] http://www.rheumatologynetwork.com/rheumatoid-arthritis
[3] http://www.rheumatologynetwork.com/authors/deborah-abrams-kaplan
Page 2 of 2