Treatment of Familial Mediterranean Fever with Anakinra
- Rakiba Belkhir, MD;
- Luc Moulonguet-Doleris, MD;
- Eric Hachulla, MD, PhD;
- Jacques Prinseau, MD;
- Alain Baglin, MD; and
- Thomas Hanslik, MD, PhD
- From Hôpital Ambroise Paré, Boulogne 92104, France.
Background: About 5% to 10% of patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) have no clinical response to colchicine therapy, and no treatment recommendations exist for these cases (1). Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a major proinflammatory cytokine that is increased in activity by pyrin, which is elevated in FMF (2, 3). Thus, blockade of IL-1 could in theory control the disease.
Objective: To describe a woman with FMF who was refractory to colchicine treatment but who responded clinically to anakinra therapy, an IL-1–receptor antagonist.
Case Report: A 68-year-old woman with FMF was treated with colchicine since her teens. The diagnosis was based on her personal and family history. She was homozygous for the M694V mutation of the MEFV gene. Despite treatment with colchicine, 1 …
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