Randomized Trial of Tocilizumab in Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most severe subtype of JIA; treatment options are limited. Interleukin-6 plays a pathogenic role in systemic JIA.

We randomly assigned 112 children, 2 to 17 years of age, with active systemic JIA (duration of ≥6 months and inadequate responses to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and glucocorticoids) to the anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab (at a dose of 8 mg per kilogram of body weight if the weight was ≥30 kg or 12 mg per kilogram if the weight was