Tocilizumab-induced Leukoencephalopathy with a Reversible Clinical Course.

Intern Med

Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Japan.

Published: November 2020

AI Article Synopsis

  • Tocilizumab (TCZ) is an antibody used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions, but it may cause cognitive issues after long-term use.
  • A 63-year-old woman developed progressive cognitive impairment after using TCZ for 34 months, with MRI and PET scans revealing brain abnormalities.
  • Stopping TCZ led to improvements in her cognitive function and MRI results within three months, highlighting the potential risks of prolonged TCZ treatment.

Article Abstract

Tocilizumab (TCZ; Actemra/RoActemra) is an anti-interleukin (IL)-6 receptor antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune diseases and cytokine storms. The present case is a 63-year-old female well-controlled RA patient, who presented with a progressive cognitive impairment after 34 months of TCZ administration. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed leukencephalopathy with a lactic acid peak in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), a decreased blood flow in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and a decreased accumulation in fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). The discontinuation of TCZ improved her cognitive function and brain MRI findings at 3 months after drug cessation. The present case suggests that TCZ may sometimes cause leukoencephalopathy after long-term administration, and thus the early discontinuation of TCZ is recommended to achieve a good prognosis.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7725625PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.2169/internalmedicine.5288-20DOI Listing

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