Stroke is the leading cause of disability worldwide, yet there is currently no effective treatment available to mitigate its negative consequences. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), are known to play a crucial role in exacerbating the aftermath of stroke. Thus, it is hypothesized that blocking inflammation and administering anti-inflammatory drugs at an optimal time and dosage may improve the long-term quality of life for stroke patients. This systematic review examines the effectiveness and safety of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), commercially known as \"anakinra,\" in clinical studies involving the treatment of stroke patients. A comprehensive literature search was conducted until October 2023 to identify relevant studies. The search yielded 1403 articles, out of which 598 were removed due to duplication. After a thorough review of 805 titles and abstracts, 797 articles were further excluded, resulting in 8 studies being included in this systematic review. The findings from all the included studies demonstrate that IL-1Ra is safe for use in acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients, with no significant adverse events reported. Additionally, biomarkers, clinical assessments, serious adverse events (AEs), and non-serious AEs consistently showed more favorable outcomes in IL-1Ra receiving patients. Stroke elevates the levels of several inflammatory cytokines, however, administration of IL-1RA directly or indirectly modulates these markers and improves some clinical outcomes, suggesting a potential therapeutic benefit of this intervention.

Many alternative treatments aimed at modulating osteoarthritis (OA) progression have been developed in the past decades, including the use of cytokine inhibitors. IL-1β is considered one of the most impactful cytokines in OA disease and therefore, its blockage offers a promising approach for the modulation of OA. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is a naturally occurring anti-inflammatory protein belonging to the IL-1 family that competes with IL-1β for occupancy of its receptors, without triggering the same downstream inflammatory response. Because of its natural anti-inflammatory properties, different methods have been proposed to use IL-1Ra therapeutically in OA. Autologous conditioned serum (ACS) and autologous protein solution (APS) are blood-derived products produced with the use of specialized commercial kits. These processes result in hemoderivatives with high concentrations of IL-1Ra and other cytokines and growth factors with potential modulatory effects on OA progression. Several studies have demonstrated potential anti-inflammatory effect of these therapies with promising clinical results. However, as with any hemoderivatives, clinical outcomes may vary. For optimal therapeutic use, further research is warranted for a more comprehensive understanding of the product\'s composition and interaction of its components in joint inflammation. Additionally, differences between ACS and APS treatments may not be clear for many clients and clinicians. Thus, the objective of this narrative review is to guide the reader in important aspects of ACS and APS therapies, in vitro and in vivo applications and to compare the use of both treatments in OA.

Osteoarthritis afflicts millions of individuals across the world resulting in impaired quality of life and increased health costs. To understand this disease, physicians have been studying risk factors, such as genetic predisposition, aging, obesity, and joint malalignment; however have been unable to conclusively determine the direct etiology. Current treatment options are short-term or ineffective and fail to address pathophysiological and biochemical mechanisms involved with cartilage degeneration and the induction of pain in arthritic joints. OA pain involves a complex integration of sensory, affective, and cognitive processes that integrate a variety of abnormal cellular mechanisms at both peripheral and central (spinal and supraspinal) levels of the nervous system Through studies examined by investigators, the role of growth factors and cytokines has increasingly become more relevant in examining their effects on articular cartilage homeostasis and the development of osteoarthritis and osteoarthritis-associated pain. Catabolic factors involved in both cartilage degradation in vitro and nociceptive stimulation include IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, PGE2, FGF-2 and PKCδ, and pharmacologic inhibitors to these mediators, as well as compounds such as RSV and LfcinB, may potentially be used as biological treatments in the future. This review explores several biochemical mediators involved in OA and pain, and provides a framework for the understanding of potential biologic therapies in the treatment of degenerative joint disease in the future.