Serum ghrelin in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis during treatment with infliximab

Ghrelin is a gastric hormone that posses multiple functions, including induction of growth hormone release, regulation of proinflammatory cytokines and control of food intake and energy homeostasis. A few reports on serum ghrelin level in chronic inflammatory states revealed contradictory results. The study was undertaken to determine ghrelin in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving infliximab, a TNF-α blocking agent. Serum ghrelin was determined in 18 female rheumatoid patients before the treatment with infliximab, 1 week after the first infusion and after 53 weeks of medication and compared with 15 age-matched healthy women. Serum ghrelin level was shown to be increased in the patients. A decrease in serum ghrelin level was found after the first infusion of infliximab and similarly decreased ghrelin level but still higher than in the control was shown in the 53rd week of medication. The obtained results suggest that ghrelin level is related to inflammation, and its serum level in patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis behaves similarly to acute-phase reactants.