As part of the GBD 2021, the authors provide updated estimates for the global burden of musculoskeletal disorders, excluding RA, osteoarthritis, low back pain, neck pain, and gout. In 2020, the total years lived with disability globally was estimated to be 42.7 million, which was a 122% increase from 1990. Over the same time period, mortality increased by 199%. The study forecasts an increase in cases by 2050 in all regions, with the exception of Central Europe.

Real-world data from the PsABio study indicated that females with PsA had more severe disease than males before the initiation of treatment. While both genders experienced treatment related improvements, fewer females than males were able to achieve a favourable disease state within 12 months. Treatment discontinuation and switching were also higher in females than males, due to lower efficacy and adverse events.      

Data gathered from 11 phase 2 and phase 3 trials have shown that guselkumab has a favourable safety profile in treating psoriatic disease. The data were gathered from 4399 patients over 10787 patient years. In the placebo-controlled periods, guselkumab showed a similar safety profile to placebo, and this remained consistent and stable in the non-placebo controlled preiods.

October 2023

Data from this phase 3 RCT demonstrated that the efficacy of bimekizumab observed at 16 weeks remained consistent through to 52 weeks in the treatment of bDMARD-naïve patients with PsA. Patients who started the trial on placebo and switched to bimekizumab at week 16 showed similar improvements to those patients who were randomised to receive bimekizumab at the start of the trail. No new safety signals were identified.

In the UPJOINT open label study, the proportion of patients with PsA, and an inadequate response to csDMARDs or bDMARDs, who achieved minimal disease activity with upadacitinib was in line with the results of previous studies at 24 weeks. No new safety signals were identified.

July 2023

Results from the 3-year PsABio study demonstrated that, generally, ustekinumab and TNFi treatment led to an improvement in PROs. In coming to this conclusion, researchers aimed to evaluate the real-world effect of ustekinumab or a TNFi on PRO and their association with effectiveness endpoints in PsA patients over 3 years.

This study confirms the safety of long-term apremilast use in patients with plaque PsO, active PsA, or oral ulcers associated with Behçet’s syndrome. In coming to this conclusion, investigators conducted a pooled analysis of apremilast data from 15 clinical studies with open-label extension phases, focusing on long-term safety.

June 2023

JAK Inhibitors and the Risk of Malignancy: A Meta-analysis Across Disease Indications

Ann Rheum Dis. 2023;82(8):1059–1067 doi: 10.1136/ard-2023-224049

The objective of this study was to estimate the association of JAKi with the incidence of malignancy, compared with placebo, TNFi and MTX.

Reinisch, et al. show that filgotinib treatment has no effect on semen parameters for men with active inflammatory diseases. This contrasts with pre-clinical studies that showed fertility issues in male animals.