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Objective. To assess efficacy and tolerability of infliximab in pts with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in real clinical practice.Materials and methods. 75 RA pts with high disease activity according to DAS 28 in 80% who received previous antirheumatic drugs without proper effect were included in an open clinical trial. DAS 28 and ACR criteria were used as primary outcome measures.Results. Infliximab administration provided significant clinical improvement in most pts. Already in a week after the first infusion 20% ACR improvement was achieved in 74% of pts. Significant improvement of all the main treatment effect parameters was achieved after the second infusion. ESR and CRP mean values normalized after the third infusion. Rheumatoid factor decrease was noted after 6 weeks. Mean values of tender and swollen joint counts significantly decreased but arthritis signs remained in a part of pts. Clinical remission was achieved in 4 (19%) from 21 pts completed a year’s course of treatment and in 4 pts the treatment was not effective. Serious adverse events requiring infliximab withdrawal (including infectious arthritis, hand phlegmon and bronchitis) appeared in 7 ptsConclusion. These results show high efficacy of infliximab and prove advisability of its administration in RA

Tofacitinib (TOFA) was the first synthetic small molecule drug which was comparable with genetically engineered biological agents (GIBA) in terms of its therapeutic effect in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Results of treatment of over 4 thousand RA patients showed that the most common adverse events were nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory infections and urinary tract infections, herpes, diarrhea, nausea, gastritis. Serious side effects were registered in 15.4% of patients, and serious infections in 4.5%. Opportunistic infections occurred in 0.6% of patients, half of which were cases of tuberculosis. Anemia, hemocytopenia, increased lipidemia, a mild temporary decrease in glomerular filtration rate and increased creatinemia were also recorded. There were no anaphylactic or other immediate reactions. TOFA administration results were not different from those after treatment with GIBA in terms of mortality, incidence of infections and cancer.

Objectives: This article reports 1-year clinical outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving abatacept (ABA) therapy. Materials and methods: Patients (n=91) with high RA activity (DAS28 = 5.1 ± 1.0) and an inadequate response on synthetic DMARDs (mainly methotrexate, 70.3%) and biologics (mainly TNF-α inhibitors, 93%) were included in the study. The majority of patients were middle-aged (49 ± 13.5) womens, RF (72.5%) and ACPA (77%) positive, with moderate functional impairment - HAQ = 1.4 (0.9-2). ABA were administered IV, 10 mg/kg according to the standard scheme. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the therapy was carried out according to the EULAR / ACR 2011 criteria using SDAI, CDAI, HAQ and the intention to treat approach. Results: ABA led to a significant (p