May 2025

Cardiovascular disease risk in patients with psoriasis receiving biologics targeting TNF-α, IL-12/23, IL-17, and IL-23: A population-based retrospective cohort study

PLoS Med 22(4): e1004591 DOI: org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004591

Lin et al. compared the risk of CVD in patients with psoriasis who were prescribed biologics or oral therapies and assessed the association between different classes of biologics and CVD risk. Patients with psoriasis-prescribed biologics exhibited a reduced risk of incident CVDs compared with those receiving oral antipsoriatic drugs.

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Risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and venous thromboembolic events between patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis on tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, interleukin 17 inhibitors, interleukin 12/23 inhibitors, and interleukin 23 inhibitors: An emulated target trial analysis

J Am Acad Dermatol 2025;92:1015-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2024.12.025

Chen et al. investigated the risk of MACE and VTE among patients with biologic-naïve psoriasis or PsA receiving biologic therapy. No significant difference in the risks of MACE and VTE was found between new biologics (IL-17i, IL-12/23i, or IL-23i) and TNFi.

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Appendicectomy plus standard medical therapy versus standard medical therapy alone for maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis (ACCURE): a pragmatic, open-label, international, randomised trial

Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025; 10: 550–61 DOI: 10.1016/S2468-1253(25)00026-3

The ACCURE Study Group aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of laparoscopic appendicectomy in maintaining remission in patients with UC. Authors showed that appendicectomy is a viable and safe strategy for reducing the relapse rate in patients with UC compared with standard medical therapy at 1 year, offering a potential addition to standard medical therapies.

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The effect of ixekizumab treatment on MRI sacroiliac joint structural lesions in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis: post-hoc analysis of a 52-week, randomised, placebo-controlled trial with an active reference arm

Lancet Rheumatol 2025;7: e314–22 DOI: 10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00312-6

Maksymowych et al. evaluated the effect of ixekizumab and adalimumab versus placebo over 52 weeks on structural lesions in sacroiliac joints assessed by MRI in patients naive to biological DMARDs with radiographic axSpA from the COAST-V study. The authors reported a decrease in erosion and increase in backfill at Week 16 with further reductions in erosion and increases in backfill occurring at Week 52 in patients receiving ixekizumab.

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Biologic switching in psoriatic arthritis: Insights from real-world data and key risk factors

Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2025;73:152737 doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2025.152737

Haddad et al. used real-world data from Israel’s largest health maintenance organisation to investigate predictors and patterns of biologic therapy switching in PsA, reporting that nearly half of biologic users switched therapy at least once. Cross-class switching, particularly from anti-TNF to IL-17 therapies, was frequent and consistent across two decades of treatment data.

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Efficacy and safety of zimlovisertib, ritlecitinib and tofacitinib, alone and in combination, in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to methotrexate

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2025 doi: 10.1002/art.43184 Epub ahead of print

Phase 2 study data show that zimlovisertib + tofacitinib was more effective than tofacitinib alone, in patients with moderate-to-severe RA and an inadequate response to MTX.

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Incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with Janus kinase inhibitors compared to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: data from an international collaboration of registries (the "JAK-pot" study)

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2025 doi: 10.1002/art.43188 Epub ahead of print

Data from an international collaboration of registries show no evidence of an increase in CV events during the first 2 years of use with JAKi, compared to TNFi, in the general RA population.

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April 2025

Efficacy and safety of tildrakizumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis of the scalp: Week 52 results from a phase 3b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

J Am Acad Dermatol. 2025;92(4):816-824 doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2024.12.018

The efficacy and safety of tildrakizumab for the treatment of scalp psoriasis are maintained for up to 52 weeks of treatment in a clinical trial setting.

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The concept of difficult-to-treat disease in rheumatology: where next?

Lancet Rheumatol. 2025;7:e274–89 doi: 10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00340-0

Nagy et al. propose a unifying and holistic framework for understanding and addressing the concept of difficult-to-treat (D2T) disease across rheumatology, integrating cross-disciplinary evidence and recommending its incorporation into future disease management strategies. The D2T state requires a comprehensive, holistic, multidisciplinary approach that considers the specific characteristics of each disease and the personalised needs of the patient.

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