August 2024

Efficacy and safety of current therapies for difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Journal of Translational Medicine 2024;22:795

Su et al. conducted a comprehensive systematic review and network meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of therapies for difficult-to-treat (D2T) RA. They found that tocilizumab and rituximab had superior efficacy and safety profiles, with 8mg every 4 weeks of tocilizumab identified as the optimal therapeutic dose.

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July 2024

Tofacitinib in acute severe ulcerative colitis (TACOS): A randomized controlled trial

Journal Reference: Am J Gastroenterol 2024;119:1365–72 doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000002635

A combination of tofacitinib and corticosteroids improved treatment responsiveness and decreased the need for rescue therapy in patients with acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC). Singh et al. investigated whether addition of tofacitinib to corticosteroids was superior to corticosteroids alone in patients hospitalised with ASUC.

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June 2024

The outcomes of children born to mothers with autoimmune rheumatic diseases

Lancet Rheumatol 2024:S2665-9913(24)00096-1 doi: 10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00096-1 Epub ahead of print

This Series paper by Andreoli, et al. provides a comprehensive overview of the literature for pregnancy outcomes for mothers with autoimmune rheumatic disease, and provides guidance on discussing these topics with patients. They also provide a list of frequently asked questions related to pregnancy and children by women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

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October 2023

Effects of 1-year Tofacitinib Therapy on Angiogenic Biomarkers in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2023; 62(SI3):SI304–SI312 doi 10.1093/rheumatology/kead502

This study by Kerekes, et al. investigated the relationship between tofacitinib therapy, angiogenic biomarker levels, and vascular inflammation and function in RA patients. The authors found that tofacitinib treatment reduced the production of bFGF, PlGF and IL-6, which may inhibit synovial and aortic inflammation.

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July 2023

Filgotinib Modulates Inflammation-Associated Peripheral Blood Protein Biomarkers in Adults with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis and Prior Inadequate Response to Methotrexate

Rheumatol Ther. 2023;10(5):1335–1348 doi 10.1007/s40744-023-00583-9

This study by Tanaka, et al. shows that filgotinib reduces peripheral protein biomarkers associated with JAK/STAT signalling, inflammatory signalling, immune cell migration, and bone resorption in RA patients. Notably, filgotinib 200 mg significantly reduced IL-6, TNF, CXCL13 levels as early as Week 4.

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September 2022

Olokizumab versus Placebo or Adalimumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis

N Engl J Med. 2022;387(8):715–726. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2201302

Phase 3 trial of olokizumab, a direct inhibitor of the IL-6 ligand, demonstrates superiority to placebo with respect to an ACR20 response at week 12 and noninferiority to adalimumab (all combined with methotrexate), in patients with RA.

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Consensus statement on blocking interleukin-6 receptor and interleukin-6 in inflammatory conditions: an update

doi: 10.1136/ard-2022-222784.

Blocking the IL-6R is a major therapeutic advance for many diseases in adults and children. Updated consensus statement provides guidance to rheumatologists and other experts, as well as patients and administrators, on managing patients with the use of drugs blocking the IL-6 pathway.

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June 2022

Effectiveness of TNF-inhibitors, abatacept, IL6-inhibitors and JAK-inhibitors in 31 846 patients with rheumatoid arthritis in 19 registers from the ‘JAK-pot’ collaboration

Ann Rheum Dis. 2022 doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2022-222586

Observational study of data, from large international collective of registers, finds similar overall drug retention rates between RA treatment groups.

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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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Upadacitinib as induction and maintenance therapy for moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis: Results from three Phase 3, multicentre, double-blind, randomised trials

Lancet 2022;399(10341):2113–28 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00581-5

The results of two induction studies (UC1 and UC2) and a maintenance study (UC3) show upadacitinib superiority to placebo in treating ulcerative colitis (UC). Rates of clinical remission were significantly higher for all upadacitinib doses versus placebo in all three studies.

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