'An extraordinary impact' - Enbrel makes big difference for 6 year old with arthritis

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'An extraordinary impact'

http://www.whig.com/301015381489999.php

Just six months ago, energetic 6-year-old Crissa -Eilts couldn't

push her doll in a stroller. She couldn't ride on her favorite pink Big

Wheel, and she stayed away from the swing set.

In fact, the day after Crissa's fifth birthday, she discovered she couldn't

stand or walk - symptoms that went on for almost a year.

Doctors eventually diagnosed her with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA),

the most common form of arthritis in children. Symptoms include fatigue,

swelling of the joints and stiffness or pain, which are often worse

following sleep or inactivity. Not only can the symptoms vary from child to

child, the symptoms can vary daily.

For months, Crissa visited many doctors and tried different treatments for

JRA, but nothing seemed to work.

" They had her on different medications, she wasn't responding to them, and

she was just getting worse, " said Maas, Crissa's mother.

Crissa started seeing Dr. Mark Getz, a rheumatologist with the OSF Medical

Group in Peoria, six months ago. He prescribed shots of Enbrel to be

administered twice a week.

Although Crissa admits the shots are uncomfortable, she says she and her mom

have a system to minimize any anxiety.

" I cover my eyes like that, and then when it's in, I open my eyes and look

at it, " she said.

When asked if the shots hurt, Crissa responded simply, " Nope. "

Enbrel, one of four new drugs approved to treat JRA, belongs to a class of

drug treatments called " biologic agents " or biologic response modifiers.

Biologics target and block a specific protein that acts as an inflammatory

agent in some types of arthritis. This

treatment helps reduce pain, morning stiffness and swollen joints.

Since the Enbrel shots began, Crissa has enjoyed marked improvement. Within

a month of starting treatment, Crissa could stand on her own. After two

months, she could walk again.

" It's just like there's nothing wrong with her, " says Maas. " The swelling in

her knees went down, she can move, she can get her feet behind her head now

again, she's running, she's walking ... she's doing stuff that she couldn't

do before. "

Dr. Glass, a pediatric rheumatologist from Cincinnati Children's

Hospital, is participating in a research project on biologic agents with the

Greater Illinois Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. He has seen a high

success rate with the Enbrel treatment.

" The biologics have had, I think, an extraordinary impact for many

children - not all children, but at least 60 or 70 percent of children who

have the diagnosis of JRA, " he said. " And we know that that's a success.

There seems to be reduced incidents of joint destruction with this

treatment, and therefore, less requirement for orthopedic surgery putting in

new joints. "

Crissa will take Enbrel shots for the rest of her life. It's a sacrifice her

family is willing to make, considering the remarkable results.

" We don't have to carry her everywhere, " said Maas. " We don't have to make

sure she's just right in the seat, because she couldn't sit in her car seat.

She had to lay down in the back seat, and then we'd have to wrap the

seatbelt all around her. It was kind of hard. "

Last year, Crissa had two wishes: she wanted to be able to walk again and

she wanted a baby brother.

With the birth of Hunter Maas on Dec. 28, both her wishes have come true.