Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Rheumatol. Jul 12, 2015; 5(2): 50-58
Published online Jul 12, 2015. doi: 10.5499/wjr.v5.i2.50
Use of biologic agents for rheumatic diseases in pregnancy
Yesim Garip
Yesim Garip, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 06934 Sincan, Ankara, Turkey
Yesim Garip, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pinar Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Center, 06010 Kecioren, Ankara, Turkey
Author contributions: Garip Y solely contributed to this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Yesim Garip declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Yesim Garip, MD, Specialist, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pinar Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Center, Baglarbasi Mah Bursa Cad no 20, 06010 Kecioren, Ankara, Turkey. dryesimgarip@gmail.com
Telephone: +90-536-5844332 Fax: +90-312-2691718
Received: January 22, 2015
Peer-review started: January 24, 2015
First decision: February 7, 2015
Revised: April 29, 2015
Accepted: May 5, 2015
Article in press: May 6, 2015
Published online: July 12, 2015
Processing time: 166 Days and 10.1 Hours
Abstract

Biologic agents have ushered a new era in the treatment of inflammatory rheumatic diseases. In recent years, several biologic agents have been approved by food and drug administration and have significantly improved outcomes for patients with immune mediated inflammatory disorders including rheumatic and inflammatory bowel diseases. The most common used biologic therapeutic agents are tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (etanercept, infliximab, adalimumab, certolizumab pegol, and golimumab), an interleukin (IL)-6 inhibitor (tocilizumab), an IL-1 receptor antagonist (anakinra), an anti-CD-20 antibody (rituximab), and a T cell co-stimulation modulator (abatacept). Their use during pregnancy has been controversial because of absence of controlled studies which have enrolled pregnant women. This brief overview provides published data on use of biologic agents for the treatment of rheumatic diseases in pregnancy.

Keywords: Ankylosing spondylitis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Pregnancy; Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs

Core tip: Biologic agents are increasingly being used in the treatment of rheumatic diseases. This article presents published data on use of biologic agents in pregnant women with rheumatic diseases.