Children’s Hospital Study Reviews New Drug for Childhood Arthritis

Following a study at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Alder Hey’s Children’s Hospital, a drug called RoActemra® (tocilizumab) has been specifically licensed as an effective treatment for systemicAffecting the whole body. juvenile idiopathicOf unknown cause. arthritisInflammation of one or more joints of the body. (sJIA).

The study showed that the medicine improved symptoms by 90% in two-thirds of patients and could alleviate the suffering of up to 2,500 children in Britain currently living with the disease. Until now, the commonly used treatments for sJIA have been anti-inflammatoryAny drug that suppresses inflammation drugs (e.g. ibuprofen or corticosteroidsA group of hormones that are produced by the adrenal glands, which sit on top of the kidneys.) which may cause severe side effects and often do not slow progression of the disease.

Symptoms of sJIA include:

• ongoing joint pain,
• constant high spiking feverThe raising of the body temperature above norma, which may be accompanied by symptoms such as shivering, headache and sweating.,
• enlargement of internal organs such as the spleenAn organ situated on the left side of the abdomen that filters out worn-out red blood cells and other foreign bodies from the bloodstream. and liverA large abdominal organ that has many important roles including the production of bile and clotting factors, detoxification, and the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
• a distinctive salmon-coloured skin rash.
• One half to two thirds of patients develop a chronicA disease of long duration generally involving slow changes. persistent polyarthritisInflammation in more than four joints. and approximately half of these patients develop significant disability.

Professor of Paediatric Rheumatology, Professor Patricia Woo of Great Ormond Street Hospital comments: “Systemic juvenile arthritis can be a devastating disease. It strikes often very young children, causing chronic illness, pain and disability. It is hugely encouraging to have an effective medicine now available to alleviate symptoms, control disease activity and potentially hold back the worst long-term consequences of the disease.”