Inhibition of the TNF-pathway: use of infliximab and etanercept as remission-inducing agents in cases of therapy-resistant chronic inflammatory disorders.

Objective: To examine the potential of the two tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors infliximab and etanercept as remission-inducing agents in chronic therapy-resistant inflammatory disorders of immune or non-immune pathogenesis.

Methods: 14 patients with adult Still's disease/macrophage activation syndrome (4), Wegener's disease (3), Behçet's disease (3), keratoscleritis (1), lymphomatous tracheo-bronchitis (1) Cogan's syndrome (1), and rapidly destructive crystal arthropathy (1) were treated with infliximab (n = 10) and etanercept (n = 4). All patients showed organ-threatening progression of their diseases with resistance to conventional immunosuppressive medication.