Only its use in rheumatoid arthritis requires the concomitant use of methotrexate by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) product labeling; however, the concomitant use of methotrexate in other disease states may help to reduce the bodys immune response to the infliximab and increase its duration of efficacy. Pharmacology
Infliximab is a purified, recombinant DNA-derived chimeric human-mouse IgG monoclonal antibody that consists of mouse heavy and light chain variable regions combined with human heavy and light chain constant regions. It has a serum half-life of 9.5 days and can be detected in serum 8 weeks after infusion treatment.Infliximab neutralizes the biological activity of TNF-α by binding with high affinity to the soluble (free floating in the blood) and transmembrane (located on the outer membranes of T cells and similar immune cells) forms of TNF-α, and inhibits or prevents the effective binding of TNF-α with its receptors. Infliximab and adalimumab (another TNF antagonist) are in the subclass of "anti-TNF antibodies" (they are in the form of naturally occurring antibodies), and are capable of neutralizing all forms (extracellular-, transmembrane-, and receptor-bound) of TNF-α. Etanercept, a third TNF antagonist, is in a different subclass (receptor-construct fusion protein), and, because of its modified form, cannot neutralize receptor-bound TNF-α. Additionally, the anti-TNF antibodies adalimumab and infliximab have the capability of lysing cells involved in the inflammatory process, whereas the receptor fusion protein apparently lacks this capability. Although the clinical significance of these differences have not been absolutely proven, etanercept, has been shown to perform worse than placebo for Crohns disease.
2006. Archived from the original on 2009-03-24. "Focal Dystonias: Oromandibular Dystonia". WeMove.org. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. == External links ==