German scientists published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association that drugs of the anti-TNF-α (anti-tumor necrosis factor) class used to treat rheumatoid arthritis are associated with an elevated risk of shingles. There are a number of anti-TNF-α drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, including Humira, Enbrel and Remicade. These drugs provide tremendous benefit to many with arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. However, based on this new study, doctor’s should now be aware of this potential serious side effect.
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Tags: anti-TNF, arthritis, Enbrel, Humira, Remicade, rheumatoid, tumor necrosis factor
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.