Defining the link between anti-TNF therapies and increased tuberculosis
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - 07:56
in Health & Medicine
The life of many individuals with inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis has been dramatically improved by treatment with drugs that target the protein TNF, so called anti-TNF therapies. However, anti-TNF therapies can decrease the ability of the immune system to fight infections and have been associated with an increased incidence of tuberculosis. By studying the immune cells of patients before and after treatment with the anti-TNF therapy infliximab Steffen Stenger and colleagues, at the University Hospital of Ulm, Germany, have been able to identify a mechanism by which an anti-TNF therapy impairs host defence against tuberculosis...