Observational studyBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2019
CD4+ count-dependent concentration-effect relationship of rituximab in rheumatoid arthritis.
Observational study in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immunoglobulin G Receptors (FcγR), in Addition to Target-Antigen and Neonatal Fc Receptor (FcRn), Influence Rituximab Pharmacokinetics.Clinical pharmacokinetics · 2025Article
- Rituximab, Apremilast, and Upadacitinib as Selected Biosimilar and Targeted Synthetic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs with Diverse Mechanisms of Action: Their Current Use in Slowing Down the Progression of Disease.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Risk factors associated with cytomegalovirus reactivation in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy for rheumatic diseases: a retrospective study.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Impact and Tolerance of Immunosuppressive Treatments in Patients Living with HIV with Inflammatory or Autoimmune Diseases.Microorganisms · 2022Article
- The Influence of Underlying Disease on Rituximab Pharmacokinetics May be Explained by Target-Mediated Drug Disposition.Clinical pharmacokinetics · 2022Article
- Role of B Cells in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.Annals of neurology · 2021Review
- Pharmacokinetic Variability of Therapeutic Antibodies in Humans: A Comprehensive Review of Population Pharmacokinetic Modeling Publications.Clinical pharmacokinetics · 2020Review
- Effects of rituximab therapy on B cell differentiation and depletion.Clinical rheumatology · 2020Review
- CD4+ count-dependent concentration-effect relationship of rituximab in rheumatoid arthritis.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2019Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsRituximab is approved in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A substantial decrease in CD4+ count was observed in responders after a single cycle of treatment. This study aimed to describe and quantifying the influence of CD4+ count depletion on the concentration-response relationship of rituximab in RA patients.
methodsIn this retrospective monocentric observational study, 52 patients were assessed. Repeated measurements of rituximab concentrations (pharmacokinetics), CD4+ counts (biomarker) and disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28, clinical response) were made. Rituximab pharmacokinetics was described using a 2-compartment model, and CD4+ cell counts and DAS28 measurements were described using indirect turnover and direct Emax pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic models, respectively. Delay between rituximab concentrations and responses was accounted for by including biophase compartments.
resultsElimination half-life of rituximab was 18 days. The pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model showed that DAS28 response to rituximab was partly associated with CD4+ cell depletion. At 6 months, a deeper DAS28 decrease was observed in patients when CD4+ cell count is decreased: median [interquartile range] of DAS28 was 3.7 [2.9-4.4] and 4.5 [3.7-5.3] in patients with and without CD4+ decrease, respectively.
conclusionsThis is the first study to quantify the relationship between rituximab concentrations, CD4+ count and DAS28 in RA patients. This model showed that approximately 75% of patients had CD4+ count decrease, and that the clinical improvement is 2-fold higher in patients with CD4+ cells decrease than in others.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.