Sunday Sept 7, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- A new Korean study suggests that use of tumor-necrosis-factor (TNF) blocker drugs may increase risk of contracting tuberculosis in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The study showed rheumatoid arthritis patients who took infliximab (brand name Remicade) were 30 times more likely to contract tuberculosis than the general Korean population.

On Sept 4, the Food and Drug Administration reported that it had received 240 reports of fungal infections including 12 deaths among patients who were treated with TNF blocker drugs.

Korean researchers at Hanyang UNiversity in Seoul, Korea reviewed data from 1285 patients who did not received TNF blockers and 90 and 103 patients treated with infliximab and etanercept respectively.

Patients who did not receive treatment were nearly 9 times more likely to have tuberculosis 78 patient-year of follow-up while those receiving etanercept did not experience tuberculosis during 73.67 patient-year of follow-up compared to the general population.

Among those who took infliximab, the risk of getting tuberculosis was 30 times higher compared to the general Korean population.

TNF blocker drugs suppress the immune system and higher risk of infections of all kinds are expected in patients who receive the treatment with these drugs.

The study was published in the April 2007 issue of Journal of Rheumatology.