Rituximab en artritis reumatoide / Use of rituximab in rheumatoid arthritis

Rituximab, a human/mouse chimeric anti-CD20 antibody, has become part of rheumatoid arthritis therapy . Rituximab induces a rapid depletion of normal CD20 expressing B cells in the peripheral blood, and levels remain low or undetectable for 2-6 months before returning to pre-treatment levels. T cells are unaffected by rituximab and, consequently, opportunistic infections rarely occur in association with rituximab therapy.