Blokkade van chemokinen bij chronische ontstekingsziekten

- Chemokines form a relatively new family of chemotactic cytokines that seem to play a central role in the migration and activation of leukocytes in a wide variety of immune-mediated disorders.

- Specific therapy targeted against these proteins may well become an effective treatment in many of these disorders.

- The efficacy and safety of chemokine blockade is currently being investigated in clinical trials on patients with HIV infection, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory disorders.

- The first results have been reported in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and these seem to confirm the potency of this treatment.