Sir Frederick Still described at the end of the 19th century (1897), a primary rheumatic condition remarkably different from rheumatoid arthritis with “a chronic progressive enlargement of joints, associated with general enlargement of glands and enlargement of spleen” and with the onset “in young children almost always before the second dentition.” He also noted in his report the presence of fever, chills, anaemia and stunted growth in a subset of patients
[1]. It was not until 1946, with the advent of paediatric rheumatology by pioneers such as Mayer S. Diamantberger and Barbara Ansell, that the heterogeneity of juvenile arthritis was described, in which Still’s disease appeared as a separate subgroup
[2][3]. The major distinguishing features of Still’s disease, in addition to those previously described, were the severity of joint involvement in 50% of cases with predominant involvement of the hips, knees and wrists. It was during the 1980s that a first alert on cases of severe hepatic and neurological complications, occurring after an infection or the use of certain drugs in children, made it possible to make the association between Still’s disease and macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), a peculiar entity neighbour of inherited hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)
[4]. Over time, a very specific treatment response profile was also identified, with frequent dependence on corticosteroids, little benefit from treatment with methotrexate and later with anti TNF, the first biotherapies available for JIA in the early 1990s
[5]. This resistance to treatments echoed the work of Dayer and de Benedetti who had pointed out years earlier the predominant role of interleukin 6 (IL-6) in the disease pathogenesis
[6][7]. Other studies then highlighted the role of interleukin 1 (IL-1) in systemic manifestations, and first attempt of IL-1 blockade by anakinra have triggered hopes and expectations
[8].
In parallel with all this, the concept of auto inflammation emerged in 1999 with the discovery of the TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) deficiency syndrome, an inherited hyper inflammatory condition, linked to aberrant and deregulated IL-1 secretion induced by intracellular stress related to a defect in folding and clearance of the mutated TNFR1
[9]. Thus, other hereditary and multifactorial diseases, presenting with similar inflammatory characteristics, mediated by IL-1, gradually entered this category. Briefly, patients experience acute or chronic inflammatory symptoms including fever, malaise, myalgia, skin rashes, and abdominal pain.