Rituximab of Little Help for Patients with Relapsing Polychondritis

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent inflammation and destruction of cartilage. Corticosteroids are the primary therapy, but other drugs, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, dapsone, and colchicine, have been proposed for mild cases. Immunosuppressive agents — including cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, and anti–tumor necrosis factor — have been used with varying degrees of efficacy for severe or refractory RP.

These researchers performed a retrospective analysis of nine patients whose severe disease was treated with rituximab. At 6 months, no patient had complete remission; two patients showed partial improvement, four were stable, and three ha…