Edwards et al. reported that in patients with RA who achieved sustained LDA or remission, tapering baricitinib from 4mg to 2mg allowed most to maintain LDA at 96 weeks. Rescue with 4mg restored control for the majority, demonstrating the feasibility of dose reduction with recovery potential for treatment.

Gladman et al. assessed the impact of bimekizumab over 1 year on patient-reported symptoms, HRQoL, and work productivity in patients with PsA who were bDMARD-naïve or TNF-IR. The study showed that bimekizumab treatment resulted in sustained improvements across multiple domains, including pain, fatigue, physical function, and work impairment.

January 2025

Ferrante et al. conducted a phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of mirikizumab in patients with moderately-to-severely active Crohn’s disease. The study demonstrated that mirikizumab significantly improved clinical and endoscopic outcomes compared with placebo at week 52, with a favourable safety profile and tolerable adverse events.

Tsai et al. conducted a systematic literature review and network meta-analysis evaluating deucravacitinib and other systemic treatments for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in Asian populations. The authors reported that deucravacitinib achieved PASI75 and PASI90 response rates of 66% and 40%, respectively, higher than placebo and apremilast.

Gossec et al. demonstrated that tofacitinib significantly reduced fatigue in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, with median times to clinically meaningful improvements of 8 and 12 weeks for initial and stable improvement events, respectively. These changes were observed as early as two weeks and were more pronounced compared to placebo.

Integrated safety analysis of tofacitinib from Phase 2 and 3 trials of patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Journal Reference: Adv Rheumatol. 2024 Dec 18;64:87 doi: 10.1186/s42358-024-00402-x

Deodhar et al. conducted a pooled analysis of Phase 2 and 3 RCT data to assess the safety of tofacitinib in AS. The results showed that tofacitinib 5 mg BID had a tolerable safety profile over 48 weeks, consistent with its use in other inflammatory conditions such as RA and PsA.

Barriers to CAR T-cell therapy in rheumatology

Lancet Rheumatol 2024 doi: 10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00240-6

Lungova et al. explored the potential of CAR T-cell therapy in autoimmune conditions such as SLE, myopathies, and systemic sclerosis. While clinical cases show promise, adoption is limited by high costs, narrow patient eligibility, and safety concerns, including cytokine release syndrome. Future targeted CAR T-cell approaches may enhance efficacy and safety.

December 2024

Alarfaj et al. demonstrate fenofibrate significantly improved clinical outcomes, inflammatory biomarkers, and quality of life in patients with mild-to-moderate UC when added to mesalamine therapy.

Keywords:

Renkhold et al. report that secukinumab significantly reduced psoriasis-associated pruritus intensity, improved skin lesions, and normalised histopathological changes, with stable neuroanatomy despite treatment discontinuation.

Kavanaugh et al. conducted a post hoc analysis of a phase 2 trial examining deucravacitinib in patients with active psoriatic arthritis, focusing on the achievement of MDA components.

The analysis demonstrated that treatment with deucravacitinib led to a higher proportion of patients meeting each MDA component compared with placebo at 16 weeks.