How Do Interleukin Inhibitors Work?

Interleukin inhibitors are immunosuppressive agents that inhibit the action of interleukins. Interleukins are a group of cytokines (secreted proteins in response to infection) synthesized by white blood cells (lymphocytes, monocytes, and macrophages). They play a key role in the regulation of the immune system. Interleukin inhibitors are used to treat various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Interleukin inhibitors work by targeting cytokines that act as chemical signals between the white blood cells in response to an invading infection. They suppress the activity of these cytokines, thus suppressing the immune system and reducing inflammation.

Interleukin inhibitors are used to treat a variety of conditions including:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (a chronic disease marked by symptoms of inflammation and pain in the joints)
• Multiple sclerosis (a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord)
• Asthma
• Crohn’s disease (causes inflammation in part of the digestive system)
• Ulcerative colitis (causes inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract)
• Psoriasis (a skin disease that causes red, itchy scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk, and scalp)
• Psoriatic arthritis (a form of arthritis that affects some people who have psoriasis)
• Atopic dermatitis (a condition that makes the skin red and itchy)
• Chronic rhinosinusitis (an inflammatory disease of the paranasal sinuses)
• Eczema (patches of skin become inflamed, itchy, cracked, and rough)
• Plaque psoriasis (raised red patches covered with a whitish buildup of dead skin cells called scale)
• Pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardium, a sac-like structure with two thin layers of tissue that surround the heart)
• Traumatic knee injury
• Adult-onset Still’s disease (a type of inflammatory arthritis that features fevers, rash, and joint pain)
• Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (a group of rare, heterogeneous autoinflammatory disease characterized by clinical symptoms involving the skin, joints, central nervous system, and eyes)
• Familial Mediterranean Fever (an inherited autoinflammatory disease characterized by recurrent episodes of fever and acute inflammation of the membranes lining the abdomen, joints, and lungs)
• Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (a childhood condition that affects joints)
• Giant cell arteritis (an inflammation of the lining of arteries)
• Ankylosing spondylitis (an inflammatory disease that, over time, can cause some of the small bones in the spine to fuse)
• Castleman's disease (a rare disorder that involves an overgrowth of cells in your body's lymph nodes)
• Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (a rare systemic necrotizing vasculitis that affects small- to medium-sized vessels and is associated with severe asthma and blood and tissue eosinophilia)
• Familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (a rare, inherited inflammatory disorder characterized by intermittent episodes of rash, fever, joint pain, and other signs/symptoms of systemic inflammation triggered by exposure to cold)
• Hypereosinophilic syndrome (a disease characterized by a persistently elevated eosinophil count)
• Organ transplant, rejection prophylaxis
• Kidney cancer
• Melanoma (a form of skin cancer that begins in the cells that control the pigment in the skin)

Common side effects include:

• Headache
• Flu-like symptoms (chills, fever, fatigue, and confusion)
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Low blood pressure
• Tiredness
• Pain at the site of injection
• Stomach cramps
• Bloating

Other rare side effects include:

• Abnormal heartbeat
• Chest pain
• Watery eyes
• Trouble breathing
• Weight loss
• Muscle pain
• Abnormal liver function

Information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible side effects, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. Check with your doctor or pharmacist to make sure these drugs do not cause any harm when you take them along with other medicines. Never stop taking your medication and never change your dose or frequency without consulting your doctor.

Drug names include:

• Benralizumab
• Bimekizumab
• Brodalumab
• Cinqair
• Cosentyx
• Dupilumab
• Dupixent
• Fasenra
• Guselkumab
• Ilumya
• Ixekizumab
• Kevzara
• Mepolizumab
• Nucala
• Reslizumab
• Risankizumab
• Risankizumab-rzaa
• Sarilumab
• Secukinumab
• Siliq
• Sirukumab
• Skyrizi
• Stelara
• Taltz
• Tildrakizumab
• Tildrakizumab-asmn
• Tralokinumab
• Tremfya
• Ustekinumab