{"id":2942,"date":"2026-04-16T21:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/?p=2942"},"modified":"2026-04-16T21:54:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:54:42","slug":"%d8%aa%d9%88%d8%b3%d9%8a%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%b2%d9%88%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%a8-%d8%a3%d9%83%d8%aa%d9%8a%d9%85%d8%b1%d8%a7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/?p=2942&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Tocilizumab (Actemra)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>What is Tocilizumab?<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Tocilizumab is a medication that blocks the action of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the body. It is used by adults to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>What is Interleukin-6 (IL-6)?<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Interleukin-6 is a protein produced by the immune system that the body uses to control infection. It also plays a major role in the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. People with rheumatoid arthritis have excessive levels of IL-6 protein.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>How is Tocilizumab used?<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Tocilizumab is used with methotrexate (MTX) or as monotherapy in cases of MTX intolerance or when continuing MTX treatment is inappropriate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>How is Tocilizumab administered?<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Tocilizumab is given by intravenous infusion, with each dose taking one hour to inject into the vein, usually into the arm. The dosage amount depends on the person&#8217;s weight, so each person&#8217;s dose may differ. Your doctor may change the dose based on how Tocilizumab affects you. Tocilizumab is given every 4 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>What are the possible side effects of this medication?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Patients treated with Tocilizumab are at risk for serious illnesses, including tuberculosis, bacterial, invasive, fungal, and viral infections, and other opportunistic infections.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Tocilizumab rarely causes allergic reactions during infusion.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Tocilizumab rarely causes bowel damage (perforation of the intestinal wall). Please notify your doctor if you experience abdominal pain during treatment with Tocilizumab.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It is unknown whether Tocilizumab treatment has any effect on the possibility of developing demyelinating neuropathy, although multiple sclerosis and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy have rarely been detected in clinical studies.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>What should I do if I need surgery while undergoing Tocilizumab treatment?<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Tocilizumab treatment should be stopped before any surgery. If you need surgery, please ask your doctor when to stop Tocilizumab treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>What do I need to know before starting Tocilizumab treatment?<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Before starting Tocilizumab treatment, please ask your doctor about the following conditions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">If you have any infection or are being treated for any infection.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">If you have skin infections with open skin sores.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">If you have diabetes or other conditions that may increase your chance of infection.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">If you have tuberculosis or have been in close contact with someone who has tuberculosis.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Do I need to undergo tuberculosis tests before starting Tocilizumab treatment?<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">All patients must undergo tuberculin skin tests and chest X-rays before starting Tocilizumab treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Can I become pregnant while taking this medication?<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The effects of Tocilizumab on pregnancy have not been studied. Women should notify their doctor if they are planning to become pregnant or are breastfeeding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is Tocilizumab?<br \/>\nTocilizumab is a medication that blocks the action of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the body. It is used by adults to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rheumatism-medications"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Tocilizumab.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2943,"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2942\/revisions\/2943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr-yaser.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}