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AAP Grand Rounds 13:45 (2005) Therapy for Wegeners GranulomatosisSource: Stone JH and The Wegeners Granulomatosis Etanercept Trial Research Group. Etanercept plus standard therapy for Wegeners granulomatosis. New Engl J Med. 2005;352:351361.
The majority of patients diagnosed with Wegeners granulomatosis (WG), a multi-organ, inflammatory disease that most often affects the kidneys and respiratory tract, will go into remission with the standard treatment of glucocorticoids and cyclophosphamide. However, over half of these patients will eventually have a disease flare, necessitating reintroduction of therapy. Side effects from these medications cause significant morbidity and mortality.1,2 These researchers from the Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of etanercept, a soluble tumor necrosis factor
The choice of etanercept was based on several factors: (1) in animal models, granuloma formation is markedly decreased by the inhibition of TNF-
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