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Interleukin-6-receptor blockade increases adrenal androgen levels

Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology volume 2, pages 464–465 (2006)Cite this article

Straub RH et al. (2006) Anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody therapy favors adrenal androgen secretion in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum 54: 1778–1785

Both tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) are known to affect the adrenal gland, but the bulk of the existing literature has focused on TNF. For instance, although TNF is known to inhibit adrenal steroidogenesis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, it is unknown whether IL-6 has a similar role. In order to clarify this issue, researchers in Germany and Japan have examined the effect of monoclonal antibodies to the IL-6 receptor (MRA) on steroidogenesis in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study.

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Interleukin-6-receptor blockade increases adrenal androgen levels. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2, 464–465 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncprheum0265

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