Marked effect and steroid-sparing ability of anakinra on a patient with refractory adult-onset Still’s disease

We report a case of refractory adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) successfully controlled with anakinra, an interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor antagonist. The patient was a 23-year-old Japanese woman with AOSD who could not be induced into remission despite of two courses of pulsed methylprednisolone followed by high-dose glucocorticoid administration in conjunction with high-dose intravenously administered γ-globulin and methotrexate. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report in Japan of AOSD remission induced with anakinra.