Arthritis treatment
Administration of a monoclonal Ab (mAb) that specifically targets IL-1α is useful to treating articular and extra-articular symptoms of arthritis.
1. A method of decreasing CD14+IL-1α+ peripheral blood monocytes in a human subject in need of a treatment of arthritis, comprising subcutaneously administering to the human subject a pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and the IL-1α-specific monoclonal antibody MABp1 at a dosage of 0.2 to 20 mg/kg body weight, wherein administration of the pharmaceutical composition decreases the number of CD14+IL-1α+ peripheral blood monocytes in the human subject by at least 5%.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pharmaceutical composition is administered to the subject more than once.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the human subject has no detectable CD14+IL-1α+ peripheral blood monocytes as measured by flow cytometric analysis of blood sample taken from the human subject after the administration of the pharmaceutical composition.
4. A method of treating arthritis in a human subject in need thereof, the method comprising subcutaneously administering to the human subject a pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and the monoclonal antibody MABp1 at a dosage of 0.2 to 20 mg/kg body weight, wherein the human subject has reduced pain associated with the arthritis after the treatment.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the administration ameliorates joint inflammation in the subject.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the human subject has no detectable CD14+IL-1α+ peripheral blood monocytes as measured by flow cytometric analysis of blood sample taken from the human subject after the administration of the pharmaceutical composition.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the pharmaceutical composition is administered to the human subject more than once.