Treatment of axial spondyloarthritis: an update

Nat Rev Rheumatol. 18, 205–216 (2022) 2022 doi: 10.1038/s41584-022-00761-z

In this review Danve and Deodhar report an update on modern axSpa treatment. They found that in the past two decades substantial progress in the diagnosis and management of axSpA has been witnessed. Whilst ASAS classification criteria have enabled earlier diagnosis the increased availability of novel therapies, evolving drug safety data and novel clinical trials have allowed clinicians to rethink the placement and timing of drugs in disease management.

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The most common immune system-related AEs in patients treated with IL-17 inhibitors are mucosal and opportunistic infections.

Interleukin (IL)-17 inhibitors are a series of biological drugs used to treat a number of conditions, including ankylosing spondylitis, a disease characterised by immune system dysregulation and joint inflammation. Azadeh, et al. aimed to assess the risk of immune system-related AEs due to targeting IL-17 or IL-17R.

February 2022

Janus kinase-targeting therapies in rheumatology: a mechanisms-based approach

Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2022 Jan 5:1–13. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1038/s41584-021-00726-8

The development of targeted small-molecule therapies such as JAK inhibitors, which have varied selective inhibitory profiles, has enabled a paradigm shift in the treatment of diverse disorders, to the extent that they could ultimately enable either complete withdrawal or avoidance of glucocorticoid use in some autoimmune diseases, and could have the potential to regulate any active factor inhibiting the transition to cure.In this review paper, Tanaka, et al. describe the progress in JAK-targetin...

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Systematic review and network meta-analysis highlight that RA patients who receive recommended doses of the five approved JAK inhibitors (tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, filgotinib, and peficitinib) are likely to experience an increase in serum low- and high-density lipoprotein (LDL and HDL) levels.JAK inhibitors have been associated with alterations in levels of LDL and HDL cholesterol, which may lead to dyslipidaemia (an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease). However, the e...

December 2021

Highlights of 2021

Please click the links below to go to the CSF review of each paper

I’m sure we’d all hoped that this year would be a return to normal but, in the midst of the challenges we’ve faced with COVID-19, the rheumatology community has continued to deliver excellent publications, and we’ve covered many of these on the CSF. Here are my highlights from 2021's publications: Points to Consider for the Treatment of Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases With Janus Kinase Inhibitors: A Co...

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Integrated analysis evaluates the safety of filgotinib among patients with RA treated for a median of 1.6 years.Winthrop, et al. analysed data from seven trials, including long-term extension studies, and found that rates of TEAEs, grade ≥3 TEAEs, serious TEAEs and TEAEs leading to study drug discontinuation were comparable for filgotinib and placebo. In addition, analysis of AEs of special interest showed a generally similar incidence for filgotinib 200 mg and 100 mg....

November 2021

A review of JAK-STAT signalling in the pathogenesis of spondyloarthritis and the role of JAK inhibition

Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab740.

JAK inhibitors are likely to become an important part of the overall treatment paradigm for spondyloarthritis (SpA).Although not fully understood, the pathogenesis of SpA is complex and thought to involve both environmental and genetic factors that together elicit a chronic inflammatory response involving the innate and adaptive immune systems. Several different cytokines, TNF, IL-17A, IL-12/23 and IL-23, which are directly/indirectly affected by JAK molecules, are involved in the pathogenesis o...

October 2021

A 3.6-fold increased risk of herpes zoster (HZ) is associated with tsDMARDs, and an increased risk is associated with bDMARDs, compared with csDMARDs. It is now well known that patients with RA have an increased risk of developing herpes zoster (HZ), and that incidence rates appear to be increased with TNF and JAK inhibitors. To this end, Redeker, et al. used data from the German RABBIT Registry to compare event and incidence rates of HZ in patients with RA treated with the three different DMAR...

July 2021

The combination of JAK inhibitors with MTX is not associated with an increased risk of malignancy when compared to MTX alone. Although long-term studies are needed to confirm this conclusion from short-term studies. Although it is now known that patients with RA are predisposed to an increased risk of malignancy, especially malignant lymphomas, lung cancers and non-melanoma skin cancer, it remains unclear whether the combination therapy is associated with a higher risk.To this end, Solipuram, et...

June 2021

The JAK/STAT pathway is receiving increasing attention in modulation of nociceptive responses, given its clear role in cytokine signalling. The authors of this review speculate that JAKinibs may have an effect on the modulation of nociception and reduction of pain.Crispino N, et al. review the impact of pain in patients with rheumatic disease and the physiological basis of modulating nociceptive pain. They examine the role of cytokines in the modulation of pain and analyse current clinical JAKin...