Published in:
01-12-2007 | Editorial
Is interleukin-1 a good target for therapeutic intervention in intervertebral disc degeneration: lessons from the osteoarthritic experience
Authors:
Philippe Goupille, Denis Mulleman, Xavier Chevalier
Published in:
Arthritis Research & Therapy
|
Issue 6/2007
Login to get access
Abstract
IL-1 plays a key role in disc degeneration and could be a valid target for inhibiting this process. IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) might be a good candidate to inhibit IL-1 activity. However, many questions need to be addressed before contemplating therapy in humans. IL-1 blockade is also a great challenge in osteoarthritis and results from animal models suggest that IL-1ra may have beneficial effects. The clinical benefit of a local injection of IL-1ra in knee osteoarthritis may be limited by the antagonist's short half-life. Further studies with longer-lasting antagonists are needed to explore this new therapeutic approach.