Cryoglobulinemia are responsible for systemic vasculitis, and the most frequently targeted organs are the skin, joints, kidneys and peripheral nervous system. Cryoglobulinemia vasculitis are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and require therapeutic intervention. Management of non-infectious mixed cryoglobulinemia vasculitis is based on corticosteroids, plasma exchange, and/or immunosuppressants. These treatments are associated with frequent side effects. To date, no study has evaluated the efficacy and safety of these different therapeutic options, explaining the lack of recommendations.~Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody directed against CD20, has emerged as a novel therapeutic option in B-cell related disorders. Data from the French AutoImmunity and Rituximab (AIR) registry recently reported the positive effect of rituximab in non-infectious mixed cryoglobulinemia vasculitis. More recently, the multidisciplinary national French CryoVas survey also suggested a significant superiority of the combination corticosteroid plus rituximab compared to the corticosteroids alone in terms of complete clinical and immunological responses and corticosteroid sparing. However, no randomized controlled data addressing this issue has been published to date.
Multicenter randomized double-blind study comparing the efficacy and safety of rituximab in combination with corticosteroids to corticosteroids plus placebo in the treatment of non-infectious active mixed cryoglobulinemia vasculitis.