Kineret: what it is and for which pathologies it is used

Kineretis the commercial name of theAnakinra-baseddrug developed by the Swedish pharmaceutical companySwedish Orphan Biovitrum AB. This medicine is mainly used in treatments against rheumatoid arthritis, a disease of autoimmune origin that can cause a strong inflammation of the joints, which in severe cases can also cause the loss of joint functions.

Anakinra is obtained throughrecombinant DNA technologyand has animmunosuppressant action, blocking the biological activity of the proteinInterleukin 1 (IL1-RA). In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, this protein is produced in excessive amounts. Anakinra acts as an antagonist against the protein and specifically binds to receptors that generally form binding to Interleukin 1. The result is the mitigation of the symptomatology of rheumatoid arthritis. Kineret is given in addition to a medicine called methotrexate to patients who have not responded adequately tomethotrexatealone.

Anakindra is also used in treatments against:

• Still’s disease: a rare form of arthritis characterized by the appearance of skin rashes, fever above 39 ° C and severe joint pain;
• Familial Mediterranean fever: genetic disease that is characterized by the appearance of strong inflammation of the joints, chest and abdomen;
• Cryopyrinopathies (better known as “Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes“): a series of very rare genetic diseases characterized by excessive production of thecryopyrin protein. These are potentially deadly and seriously disabling disorders.

Dosage and efficacy of treatment

Kineret can be administered by means of a simple subcutaneous injection. For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, a dosage of100 mg is recommended, while for those suffering from the other diseases listed in the previous section the dosage depends on factors such as the patient’s body weight and the severity of the symptoms (only forCAPSs).

Medical personnel should take care to administer each dose of Kineret to different parts of the body. In addition, Kineret should be administered with absolute caution to:

• Patients withsevere hepatic impairment;
• Patients withmoderate renal impairment;

In addition, patients with severe renal impairment may not receive Kineret until every other day.

Regarding the effectiveness of this treatment on rheumatoid arthritis, several studies have confirmed that Kineret reaches its maximum effectiveness when used in addition to methotrexate. In fact, after six months from the start of treatment, a decrease in symptoms of20% is observed.

As far as Still’s disease is concerned, a good efficacy of the treatment was observed in three different studies conducted on both very young and adult patients (more details available at the following link ).

Patients with familial Mediterranean fever treated with a Kineret and colchicinehalved the frequency of febrile attacks, and in half of the cases there was only one febrile event per month. Speaking instead ofCAPS , the results obtained 60 days after the treatment were considered very good (for further details, please consult this link ).

Kineret side effects

The most common side effects in patients treated with Anakinra are:

• Skin reactions at the injection site;
• headache;

The use of the drug is highly discouraged for those patients allergic to its active principle or to the proteins produced by the Escherichia coli bacterium , as well as for those subjects with very low levels of neutrophils (a condition known as neutropenia ).