TIME COURSE OF CHANGES IN THE SYNOVIAL FLUID LEVELS OF PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES IN RHEUMATOID ATHRITIS PATIENTS DURING RITUXIMAB TREATMENT

Objective: to study the time course of rituximab therapy-induced changes in the synovial fluid levels of osteoprotegerin (OPG), receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL), interleukins (IL) 1β and 6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Results and discussion. The synovial fluid levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, OPG, and RANKL were studied in 54 RA patients who were seropositive for rheumatoid factor and cyclic citrullinated peptide. Differences were found in the levels of the study cytokines in patients with a varying duration of the disease. Conclusion. Rituximab was observed to be highly effective in correcting cytokine parameters in early RA.