Interleukin-18 as an efficient marker for remission and follow-up in patients with inactive adult-onset Still's disease.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

Diagnosis of adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is difficult because of a lack of pathognomonic findings and markers. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of interleukin (IL)-18 and free IL-18 in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with AOSD.

METHOD:

Levels of inflammatory cytokines, IL-18, IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), and free IL-18 were compared in 80 AOSD patients and 90 controls. The AOSD patients were divided into active and inactive groups according to disease activity, and the inactive patients were subdivided into a remission subgroup and a low disease activity subgroup. We compared erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, IL-18, and free IL-18 as disease activity markers in the AOSD patients. Serial serum levels of activity markers were measured in 52 of the 80 AOSD patients at 3- to 6-month intervals.

RESULTS:

There were significantly higher levels of IL-18 and free IL-18 in the AOSD patients than in the controls. IL-18 and free IL-18 were significantly higher in the active group than the inactive group (p < 0.001 for all). Unlike other activity markers, IL-18 and free IL-18 levels in the low disease activity subgroup were significantly higher than those in the remission subgroup within the inactive group (p = 0.004 and 0.005, respectively). During serial follow-up, ferritin and IL-18 showed a significant decrease in the responder and remission subgroup.

CONCLUSIONS:

IL-18 might be an efficient marker for diagnosis and follow-up of AOSD and might also be a useful predictor of remission, especially in clinically inactive patients.

• Authors: K-H Jung, J-J Kim, J-S Lee, W Park, T-H Kim, J-B Jun, D H Yoo
• Journal: Scandinavian journal of rheumatology (Scand J Rheumatol) Vol. 43 Issue 2 Pg. 162-9 ( 2014) ISSN: 1502-7732 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 24134323 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• Cytokines
• Immunosuppressive Agents
• Interleukin-18

Topics

• Adult
• Biomarkers (blood)
• Case-Control Studies
• Cytokines (blood)
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Immunosuppressive Agents (therapeutic use)
• Interleukin-18 (blood)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Predictive Value of Tests
• Remission Induction
• Sensitivity and Specificity
• Severity of Illness Index
• Still's Disease, Adult-Onset (blood, diagnosis, drug therapy)