January 2025

Switching to biological DMARDs versus cycling among JAK inhibitors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and with inadequate response to JAK inhibitors: from FIRST registry

RMD Open. 2025 Jan 21;11:e004987

Miyazaki et al. investigated the efficacy and safety of switching to bDMARDs versus cycling among JAKis in RA patients with inadequate JAKi response. Cycling to another JAKi proved more effective in improving disease activity at 26 weeks compared to switching to a bDMARD, and both groups had similar safety profiles.

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Understanding Cardiovascular Events with JAK Inhibitors: Tofacitinib Reduces Synovial and Vascular Inflammation but not the Prothrombotic Effects of Inflammatory Cytokines on Endothelium

ACR Open Rheumatol. 2025 Jan;7(1):e11790 doi: 10.1002/acr2.11790.

Zavoriti and Miossec explored the impact of tofacitinib on inflammation and coagulation in RA. Tofacitinib reduced synovial and vascular inflammation by inhibiting IFNɣ, IL-17A, and IL-6 production but failed to prevent the prothrombotic effects of inflammatory cytokines on endothelial cells. These findings suggest that while tofacitinib reduces inflammation, it does not mitigate associated thrombotic risk.

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December 2024

Secukinumab Reduces Psoriasis-associated Pruritus and Regenerates the Cutaneous Nerve Architecture: Results from PSORITUS a Doubleblind, Placebo-controlled, Randomized Withdrawal Phase IIIb Study

Acta Derm Venereol. 2024 20;104:adv40737 doi: 10.2340/actadv.v104.40737

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.

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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.

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Improvement of fatigue in patients with ankylosing spondylitis receiving tofacitinib: analyses of a Phase 3 randomized controlled trial

Journal Reference: Rheumatol Ther. 2024 doi: 10.1007/s40744-024-00727-5

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.

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Efficacy and safety of mirikizumab in patients with moderately-to-severely active Crohn’s disease: a phase 3, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active-controlled, treat through study

Lancet 2024;404:2423–36 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01762-8

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.

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Indirect comparison of deucravacitinib and other systemic treatments for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in Asian populations: A systematic literature review and network meta-analysis

J Dermatol. 2024;51:1559–1571 doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.17448

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.

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November 2024

Fenofibrate as an Adjunct Therapy for Ulcerative Colitis: Targeting Inflammation via SIRT1, NLRP3, and AMPK Pathways: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Drug Des Devel Ther. 2024;18:5239-5253. doi 10.2147/DDDT.S490772

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.

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Persistent patient-level effect of guselkumab at consecutive 8-week dosing visits and over time in patients with active psoriatic arthritis: post hoc analysis of a 2-year, Phase 3, randomized, controlled study

ACR Open Rheumatol. 2024 doi 10.1002/acr2.11732 Epub ahead of print

Mease et al. conducted a post-hoc analysis of the phase 3 DISCOVER-2 trial to assess the persistence of clinically relevant improvements with guselkumab in biologic-naïve patients with PsA. The analysis showed that guselkumab maintained clinical improvements in joint and skin domains at consecutive dosing visits (Q8W) and over time.

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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.

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