But Bongatrz countered that "it's no surprise that tocilizumab works better than nothing [placebo]. The question is, does it work better than the alternatives we already have available?"
In addition, there are potential problems with tocilizumab, Bongartz said. For one, this study didn't show whether the drug slows the progression of the disease. Also, the drug significantly increased patients' cholesterol levels, which Bongartz finds troubling.
In the second report, Japanese researchers, led by Dr. Shumpei Yokota, of the department of pediatrics at Yokohama City University School of Medicine, started 56 children, ages 2 to 19, on tocilizumab. These children all had systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis, which did not respond to the usual arthritis treatment. This is a common problem with this type of arthritis, the researchers noted.
After six weeks, children who had achieved a 30 percent reduction in their arthritis symptoms were randomly assigned to continue to receive tocilizumab or a placebo.
Of the 43 children in that phase of the study, 16 out of 20 who received tocilizumab continued the improvement they had made in the first phase of the trial, compared with only four of 23 children receiving a placebo, the researchers found.
During an additional 48 weeks in which 48 children continued to receive tocilizumab, 47 children achieved a 30 percent reduction in their symptoms, 45 children achieved a 50 percent reduction in their symptoms, and 43 children ultimately achieved a 70 percent reduction in their symptoms, according to the report.
Side effects included gastrointestinal bleeding, bronchitis, and gastroenteritis.
"The results of this placebo-controlled and open-label extension study with tocilizumab in children with systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis show a sustained clinical improvement and a favorable risk-benefit profile," the Japanese team wrote. "The findings of this study might represent a step forward in the control of a disease that has previously proved to be difficult to manage."
