What Is Anakinra Used For?

People who have not responded to other medications for rheumatoid arthritis may see relief from symptoms with anakinra. By inhibiting the effects of a certain protein in the joints, the medicine can help reduce physical damage. Occasionally, it can be used "off-label" for the treatment of uveitis and neonatal onset multisystem inflammatory disease. There are currently no approved uses of anakinra in children.

Anakinra Drug Information

Anakinra Uses: An Overview

Anakinra (Kineret^®) is a prescription medication that is approved for treating rheumatoid arthritis. It is part of a group of medications known as biological response modifiers.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder. This means that, for some reason, the immune system mistakes a person's own cells as invaders and attacks them, causing damage. Similar to other autoimmune diseases, scientists still do not know the causes of rheumatoid arthritis.

There are many rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, including chronic pain, along with tender, warm, and swollen joints. Treatment usually includes medications. There are four different types of rheumatoid arthritis medication, including:

Analgesics (pain relievers), including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Corticosteroids
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
Biological response modifiers.

Anakinra is a biological response modifier, which means it targets (and "modifies") specific parts of the immune system. Biological response modifiers are commonly used to treat:

Rheumatoid arthritis
Multiple sclerosis
Crohn's disease
Ulcerative colitis
Psoriasis
Some types of cancer.

Anakinra is approved for use in people who have unsuccessfully tried one or more DMARDs or biological response modifiers.

The medication can be used in combination with other rheumatoid medications, except adalimumab (Humira^®), etanercept (Enbrel^®), or infliximab (Remicade^®). Taking anakinra with those medications increases the risk of infection and does not seem to provide any additional benefit.

(What Is Anakinra Used For? Continued: Page 2)