Info please

[Ianrussell69]

Hi my daughter has been offered bio therapy/bio medicine this is a totally different med to what I’m on and I would like to know more about it all I now is it targets persific areas in her case her spine and hips

[MsGelfling1]

What is the medicine specifically for? What is wrong with her spine and hips? What med do you take?

[PMRpro]

theconversation.com/explain...

theconversation.com/biologi...

healthline.com/health/rheum...

are three fairly straightforward explanations if what biologic drugs are.

Do they help?

[Ianrussell69 in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks will digest it tonight

[Ianrussell69]

No ferm diagnosis yet originally they thought it was juvenile dicordites sorry for the spelling I have sle or mctd and my daughter has almost all the same simptoms

[Hidden]

I have ankylosing spondylitis and have been offered biologics - anti-tnf drugs. They block the action of a protein called TNF, which, in AS and other types of arthritis, is causing inflammation, so they are very specific. It is my understanding that I produce too much TNF and this is because my innate immune system is buggered - I have inflammation as inflammation is a basic immune system response. My body isn't reacting improperly to a perceived threat, or mistaking a benign substance for something sinister (as the acquired immune system does in thyroid disease for example), I just have an overactive immune system that doesn't switch off. Aren't I a lucky girl! I am guessing the original thought you mention above was a disc problem so maybe the thinking is some sort of AI arthritis or AS? From my AS forums I see many have to jump through hoops to get biologics - my MRI showed extensive and active inflammation, hence being offered biologics immediately. My AS symptoms hugely overlapped with those of lupus, explaining my presence on this board. I finally got my diagnosis after testing positive for hla-b27 and then the MRI clinched the deal. You have to have inflammation in your sacroiliac joints to get the AS diagnosis - truly it is now only AS if you are actually fusing, strictly speaking if you are not fusing then you have non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. As you say you only know these drugs are specific to the spine and hips, makes me wonder if your daughter's rheumy is considering AS as the problem.

[Ianrussell69 in reply to Hidden]

Just showed my wife your post she thinks a/S is what they expect to find with 2nd mri

[Ianrussell69]

Thanks very interesting read

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK]

Hi Ianrussell69 ,

Do you know whether it is rituximab or belimumab (Benlysta) that your daughter has been offered?

[Ianrussell69 in reply to Paul_Howard]

We’ve not been told yet