**5.5 Anemia**

IL-6 increases the production of hepcidin, which is an iron-regulatory peptide secreted from liver cells, inhibits the signal transduction of erythropoietin, and causes anemia (Ganz and Nemeth 2009). Therefore, inhibition of IL-6 signaling by TCZ significantly improves anemia caused by chronic inflammation and benefits patients'general physical condition (Song et al., 2010).
