Effects of 1-year Tofacitinib Therapy on Angiogenic Biomarkers in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2023; 62(SI3):SI304–SI312 doi 10.1093/rheumatology/kead502

This study by Kerekes, et al. investigated the relationship between tofacitinib therapy, angiogenic biomarker levels, and vascular inflammation and function in RA patients. The authors found that tofacitinib treatment reduced the production of bFGF, PlGF and IL-6, which may inhibit synovial and aortic inflammation.

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September 2023

Findings from a retrospective electronic data-based study, assessing risk of overall and site-specific malignancies for AS patients in Israel, emphasize the importance of maintaining the routine observation of patients with AS to identify the early development of cancer.

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August 2023

This study concluded that, in r-axSpA, vertebral corner inflammation may lead to syndesmophyte formation but in a minority of cases via visible fat deposition. Here, investigators aimed to determine how much of the effect of vertebral corner inflammation on the development of syndesmophytes is explained by vertebral corner fat deposition.

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This study by Tanaka, et al. shows that filgotinib reduces peripheral protein biomarkers associated with JAK/STAT signalling, inflammatory signalling, immune cell migration, and bone resorption in RA patients. Notably, filgotinib 200 mg significantly reduced IL-6, TNF, CXCL13 levels as early as Week 4.

July 2023

Tofacitinib treatment is associated with a significant improvement in CANDEN MRI scores of spinal inflammation in axSpA patients. This study by Østergaard, et al. also validates the CANDEN MRI scoring system as an approach for measuring axSpA-associated inflammatory lesions.

Kristensen, et al. used mediation modelling to show that tofacitinib indirectly improved fatigue symptoms via back pain and morning stiffness. This study was carried out using FACIT-F- and BASDAI Q1-based models to determine the relationship between these variables.

June 2023

Braun et al. studied a large cohort of patients with nr-axSpA, that demonstrated a secukinumab reduced SI joint inflammation (BME), this reduction was sustained over 104 weeks, from an overall low baseline level of spinal inflammation or structural damage.

The results from Simon, et al. show that baricitinib treatment correlates with improvements in bone stiffness. Further improvements were also observed at the end of Week 52, with an increase in estimated failure load and no measurable progression in bone erosion being reported.

May 2023

Investigators from a phase 2 study concluded that further investigation with BMS-986142 (a novel BTK) in people with RA is not necessary.

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February 2023

Data show that the first-in-class MK2 pathway inhibitor ATI-450 was well tolerated and induced sustained anti-inflammatory efficacy over 12 weeks in patients with moderate-to-severe RA.