Trial reportArthritis research & therapy2013
Comparative evaluation of the effects of treatment with tocilizumab and TNF-α inhibitors on serum hepcidin, anemia response and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Trial report in Arthritis research & therapy, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.
- Serum DKK-1 level in the development of ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatic arthritis: a meta-analysis.Experimental & molecular medicine · 2016Pooled it
- Serum Levels of IL-6 and TNF-α May Correlate with Activity and Severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2015Pooled it
- Sarilumab and adalimumab differential effects on bone remodelling and cardiovascular risk biomarkers, and predictions of treatment outcomes.Arthritis research & therapy · 2020Trial
- Anti-TNF-α effects on anemia in rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis.International journal of immunopathology and pharmacology · 2017Trial
- Impact of Biologic Drugs on Comorbidity Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Implications for soluble iron accumulation, oxidative stress, and glial glutamate release in motor neuron death associated with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Neuropathology : official journal of the Japanese Society of Neuropathology · 2025Review
- Association between anemia and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A retrospective cohort study of the National Health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES) database.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
- Tocilizumab, a Humanized Anti-interleukin-6 Receptor Antibody, Induces Hepatic Iron Overload in a Susceptible Patient.Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2025Article
- Comparative effectiveness of subcutaneous sarilumab 200 mg biweekly, subcutaneous Tocilizumab 162 mg biweekly, and intravenous Tocilizumab 8 mg/kg every 4 weeks in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective cohort study.Arthritis research & therapy · 2025Article
- Are the Soluble Receptors sRAGE, sRANKL, and Osteoprotegerin Associated with Anemia in Rheumatoid Arthritis?International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Anemia as an indicator of a higher retention rate for tocilizumab versus tumor necrosis factor inhibitors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis from a Korean multi-center registry.Journal of rheumatic diseases · 2024Article
- Uncovering the antiinflammatory potential of Lactiplantibacillus Plantarum fermented Cannabis Sativa L seeds.NPJ science of food · 2024Article
- Anti-inflammatory therapies are associated with delayed onset of anemia and reduction in transfusion requirements in critically ill patients: results from two studies.Critical care (London, England) · 2024Observational
- Measurement of serum hepcidin-25 by latex agglutination in healthy volunteers and patients with hematologic disorders.International journal of hematology · 2024Article
- Predicting response to iron supplementation in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (PRIme): a randomised trial protocol.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Hepcidin and Iron Status in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Undergoing Induction Therapy With Vedolizumab or Infliximab.Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2023Article
- Association of hemoglobin levels with radiographic progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: an analysis from the BRASS registry.Arthritis research & therapy · 2023Observational
- Evaluation of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory potential of Lawsone (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone) using pre-clinical rodent model of rheumatoid arthritis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- The effect of targeted rheumatoid arthritis therapeutics on systemic inflammation and anemia: analysis of data from the CorEvitas RA registry.Arthritis research & therapy · 2022Article
- The role of iron metabolism in chronic diseases related to obesity.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAnemia of inflammation (AI) is a common complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and has a negative impact on RA symptoms and quality of life. Upregulation of hepcidin by inflammatory cytokines has been implicated in AI. In this study, we evaluated and compared the effects of IL-6 and TNF-α blocking therapies on anemia, disease activity, and iron-related parameters including serum hepcidin in RA patients.
methodsPatients (n = 93) were treated with an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody (tocilizumab) or TNF-α inhibitors for 16 weeks. Major disease activity indicators and iron-related parameters including serum hepcidin-25 were monitored before and 2, 4, 8, and 16 weeks after the initiation of treatment. Effects of tocilizumab and infliximab (anti-TNF-α antibody) on cytokine-induced hepcidin expression in hepatoma cells were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR.
resultsAnemia at base line was present in 66% of patients. Baseline serum hepcidin-25 levels were correlated positively with serum ferritin, C-reactive protein (CRP), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels and Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28). Significant improvements in anemia and disease activity, and reductions in serum hepcidin-25 levels were observed within 2 weeks in both groups, and these effects were more pronounced in the tocilizumab group than in the TNF-α inhibitors group. Serum hepcidin-25 reduction by the TNF-α inhibitor therapy was accompanied by a decrease in serum IL-6, suggesting that the effect of TNF-α on the induction of hepcidin-25 was indirect. In in vitro experiments, stimulation with the cytokine combination of IL-6+TNF-α induced weaker hepcidin expression than did with IL-6 alone, and this induction was completely suppressed by tocilizumab but not by infliximab.
conclusionsHepcidin-mediated iron metabolism may contribute to the pathogenesis of RA-related anemia. In our cohort, tocilizumab was more effective than TNF-α inhibitors for improving anemia and normalizing iron metabolism in RA patients by inhibiting hepcidin production.
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