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Reduction in serum levels of substance P in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by etanercept, a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor

  • Original Article
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Modern Rheumatology

Abstract

We determined the effects of etanercept on the serum concentrations of neuropeptides in RA patients. In a total of 11 patients who had been injected with etanercept, the serum levels of substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) were analyzed. Average levels of serum substance P were significantly reduced from 1.53 to 0.62 ng/ml after the injection of etanercept. In the CGRP and GRP analyses, these average levels dropped from 1.57 and 0.51 ng/ml to 0.44 and 0.04 ng/ml, respectively. Etanercept appears to decrease substance P levels with an improvement in disease activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8520, Japan

    Tomoki Origuchi

  2. Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8501, Japan

    Tomoki Origuchi, Naoki Iwamoto, Shin-ya Kawashiri, Keita Fujikawa, Toshiyuki Aramaki, Mami Tamai, Kazuhiko Arima, Hideki Nakamura, Satoshi Yamasaki, Hiroaki Ida & Atsushi Kawakami

  3. Sasebo Central Hospital, 15 Yamato-cho, Sasebo, 857-1195, Japan

    Yukitaka Ueki

  4. Nagasaki Medical Hospital of Rheumatology, 1-21 Aburaya-machi, Nagasaki, 850-0832, Japan

    Naoki Matsuoka

  5. Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital, 3-15 Mori-machi, Nagasaki, 852-8511, Japan

    Munetoshi Nakashima

  6. Nagasaki Municipal Hospital, 6-39 Shinchi-machi, Nagasaki, 850-8555, Japan

    Akinari Mizokami

  7. Ureshino National Hospital, 2436 Geshuku-hei, Ureshino, 843-0393, Japan

    Yojiro Kawabe

  8. Suga Orthopedic Hospital, 332 Ono-machi, Isahaya, 854-0034, Japan

    Masanobu Mine

  9. Kurume University Medical Center, 155-1 Kokubu-cho, Kurume, 839-0863, Japan

    Takaaki Fukuda

  10. Sasebo Municipal Hospital, 9-3 Hirase-machi, Sasebo, 857-8511, Japan

    Katsumi Eguchi

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  1. Tomoki Origuchi
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  2. Naoki Iwamoto
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  19. Katsumi Eguchi
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Correspondence to Tomoki Origuchi.

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Origuchi, T., Iwamoto, N., Kawashiri, Sy. et al. Reduction in serum levels of substance P in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by etanercept, a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor. Mod Rheumatol 21, 244–250 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-010-0384-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-010-0384-5

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