Kineret

Kineret belongs to a group of medicines termed as immunosuppressant which inhibits cellular/humoral or both types of immune responses. Such medications are preferably used in organ transplantation and autoimmune diseases. 

Indeed, anakinra is a recombinant human IL-1 receptor antagonist. It prevents IL-1 binding to its receptor and has been approved for use in refractory rheumatoid arthritis not controlled by conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

This biological agent is also used to treat a very rare autoinflammatory syndrome, neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID) which is considered as the most severe as well as the rarest form of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). 

This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription in solution form which is given to the patients by a healthcare professional through subcutaneous route.

Before using Kineret, you must know all about the risks and complications associated with it.

If you are about to start a drug therapy, the risk-benefit ratio of taking the drug should be considered carefully. Here, the suitable drug therapy is chosen with active participation of both the doctor and the patient. 

There are some important factors such as drug interactions, metabolic impairment, hypersensitivity reaction, pregnancy, lactation etc. which may alter the desired therapeutic effects of such medications. 

Sometimes the presence of other health disorders affects the beneficial effects of this medicine and even may cause serious toxic effects. If you have had any allergic reactions to any medicine, you must inform your doctor about that. 

Further, make sure you mention your doctor if you have any other health problems or medical disorders, especially:

• Allergy to E. coli-derived proteins or
• Active infection or
• Chronic infection (e.g. tuberculosis) or
• Severely weakened state or
• Malignancy or
• Renal impairment 

In addition, certain drugs should not be used concurrently with such medications. For example, a higher incidence of serious infections has been reported in certain RA patients while receiving anakinra and etanercept therapy simultaneously. 

Thus, it is always advised to consult with your doctor if you are in need of some other medications or even any over-the-counter medicine for another health problem to achieve desired therapeutic effects. 

However, animal reproduction studies performed with anakinra have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. 

Further, there is no evidence whether anakinra is excreted through breast milk. Thus, this medicine can be used during pregnancy and lactation if clearly needed.

To use Kineret properly, you must follow all instructions given by your doctor.

The dosage schedule and the duration of drug therapy depend on the particular medical problem for which you are using this medicine. 

The therapeutic dose may also vary with patient’s condition or requirement and the strength of the medicine as well. Thus, you should use this medicine following the directions given by your doctor. 

• In order to treat rheumatoid arthritis:

Adults—100 mg s.c. daily.

Children—Use is not recommended.

• In order to treat neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID):

Adults and children (at least 3 months of age) —Dose is determined based on body weight a registered physician or a pediatrician. The treatment is initiated with 1 to 2 mg/kg of body weight. The dose may be increased if needed but not exceeding 8 mg/kg/day.

If you miss any dose of this medicine, you should take it as soon as possible. But if it is time for your next dose, then you should skip the missed dose and go back to your regular treatment schedule. 

Further, it is advised to store the medicine in a closed container at room temperature away from heat, moisture, and direct light. All kinds of medicines should be kept out of the reach of children as well as outdated medicines should be disposed by an appropriate way.

Before using Kineret, there are some precautions you must take.

Regular visits to your doctor are recommended to check that this medicine is working properly or not. In addition, the following guidelines should be followed when undergoing anakinra therapy: 

• If serious infections occur following such drug therapy, you must stop using anakinra right away.
• Concurrent use of anakinra and TNF antagonists is not recommended because of increased risk of serious infections.
• Hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylactic reactions and angioedema, have been reported in certain individuals. Thus, sensitivity should be checked prior administration of such medications.
• It is advised not to take live vaccines while you are receiving anakinra therapy.
• Neutrophil counts should be assessed prior starting this drug therapy and throughout the treatment period at regular interval at least once in a month.
• Anakinra injection should not be used in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
• You should tell the physician if you or your family members have had a positive tuberculosis skin test.
• In general, there is a higher incidence of infections in the elderly population. Thus, patients of old age group should be treated with extreme caution.
• As anakinra is known to be excreted through urine, its use in patients with impaired renal function is not recommended.
• Further, you should contact your doctor immediately if you notice bleeding, blistering, infection, inflammation, itching, lumps, numbness, scarring, soreness, swelling, tenderness, burning, or tingling sensation at the injection site.

As with many medications, there are several potential side effects associated with Kineret.

There are some unwanted side effects associated with each drug that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects usually go away during the treatment episode as your body adjusts to the medicine. 

Your healthcare professional may advise you about the ways how to prevent or reduce those unwanted side effects. Sometimes you may need to consult with the doctor if you notice any of the following toxic effects while undergoing clomipramine therapy:

• Common adverse effects in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are injection site reactions, respiratory tract infections (RTI), worsening of rheumatoid arthritis, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, sinusitis, arthralgia and flu-like symptoms (e.g. fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose).

• Adverse effects in patients with NOMID include injection site reactions, vomiting, headache, arthralgia, pyrexia, and nasopharyngitis.