Evaluation of cytokine levels of oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic artrithis patients in active and inactive period

Objective Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common rheumatologic disorder in childhood. It may cause short and long-term morbidities. Disease activity assessment in JIA patients is based on clinical examination and conventional parameters of inflammation. However, those parameters are not always in concordance and there could be difficulties in planning of therapy and management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF-α) in determining disease activity of JIA patients. Materials and methods Thirteen new diagnosed oligoarticular JIA patients and eight healthy controls were enrolled in the study. We investigated serum levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 during both active and inactive phases of the disease. To evaluate the disease activity and quality of life we used JADAS-27 (Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score) and JAQQ (Juvenile Arthritis Quality of Life Questionnaire). Results There were no statistically significant differences regarding IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α between the active phase, inactive phase and control group. Comparing JADAS-27 scores, there was a statistically significant decrease in inactive period compared with the inactive period (p=0.02). However, no significant difference was obtained about the JAQQ scores between active and inactive stage (p=0.382). Levels of IL-1β were significantly decreased in patients with low disease activity (JADAS-27 score ≤ 10) compared with those of severe and moderate disease activity (JADAS-27 score >10). On the other hand, no significant differences were obtained for IL-6 and TNF-α. Conclusion There are few methods to evaluate the activation and remission periods of J？A. According to our results and the literature assessment of cytokine levels has limited value in diagnosis, monitoring and evaluating the severity of the oligoarticular JIA patients