June 2022

Filgotinib Decreases Both Vertebral Body and Posterolateral Spine Inflammation in Ankylosing Spondylitis: Results from The TORTUGA Trial

Rheumatology 2022;61:2388–2397. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab758

Maksymowych et al., assessed the effects of filgotinib on inflammatory and structural changes at various spinal locations, based on MRI measures in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis in the TORTUGA trial. Correlations between changes in the inflammation score and clinical outcomes were also evaluated.

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Efficacy and Safety of Selective TYK2 Inhibitor, Deucravacitinib, in a Phase II Trial in Psoriatic Arthritis

Ann Rheum Dis. 2022 doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221664

In this study Mease, et al. aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of deucravacitinib in patients with active PsA. Treatment with the selective TYK2i deucravacitinib was well tolerated and resulted in greater improvements than placebo in ACR-20 as well as Multiplicity-controlled secondary endpoints and other exploratory efficacy measures in patients.

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Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with conventional, targeted and biological disease‑modifying antirheumatic drugs in the setting of liver injury and non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease

Rheumatol Int. 2022 doi: 10.1007/s00296-022-05143-y

An increased incidence of liver diseases emphasizes greater caution in prescribing antirheumatic drugs, owing to their hepatotoxicity. However, drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in RA patients represents an aetiological and therapeutic challenge, due to the intertwining of inflammatory and metabolic elements mediated by IL-6 and TNF-α.

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Short- and longer-term cancer risks with biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs as used against rheumatoid arthritis in clinical practice

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2022 doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab570

Observational, nationwide cohort study finds no increased risk for cancer overall in RA patients treated with TNFis, anti-CD20 or anti-IL6.

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Comparison of drug retention of TNF inhibitors, other biologics and JAK inhibitors in RA patients who discontinued JAK inhibitor therapy

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2022 doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac285

Real-world population-based study shows that a switch to a second JAKinib results in a higher drug retention, as compared to switching to a TNFi, in patients with RA who discontinue original JAKinib therapy.

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May 2022

Responses to Ixekizumab in Male and Female Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis: Results from Two Randomized, Phase 3 Clinical Trials

doi: 10.1007/s40744-022-00445-w

Eder, et al. sought to investigate the sex-based differences in treatment response between male and female PsA patients. They found that overall male patients had higher clinical response rates and greater improvements in the individual components of these measures.

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Safety of ixekizumab in patients with psoriatic arthritis: data from four clinical trials with over 2000 patient-years of exposure

doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-222027

This analysis aimed to report the safety profile of ixekizumab for the PsA SPIRIT programme. The overall safety profile and tolerability of ixekizumab are consistent with the previously known safety profile in patients with PsA.

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Response to secukinumab on synovitis using Power Doppler ultrasound in psoriatic arthritis: 12-week results from a phase III study, ULTIMATE

doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab628

D'Agostino, et al. aimed to evaluate whether treatment with secukinumab inhibits synovitis in patients with active PsA, as measured by PDUS. They found that secukinumab rapidly and significantly decreased synovitis, indicating a direct effect of IL-17 inhibition on the synovium in patients with PsA.

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A Retrospective Study of the Efficacy of JAK Inhibitors or Abatacept on Rheumatoid Arthritis-Interstitial Lung Disease

Inflammopharmacology. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1007/s10787-022-00936-w

This study of the effectiveness of JAKinibs or abatacept in patients with RA-interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) shows that treatment is related to stability or improvement of RA-ILD in over 80% of patients.

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Two Phase 3 Trials of Baricitinib for Alopecia Areata

N Engl J Med. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2110343

Phase 3 trials in patients with severe alopecia areata show that baricitinib is superior to placebo with respect to hair regrowth at 36 weeks.
Alopecia areata is characterised by nonscarring hair loss that can affect any hair-bearing site. Although mild cases of this emotionally- and psychosocially-distressing autoimmune disease may resolve within 12 months, more severe forms of the disease are unlikely to remit without treatment.

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