This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Certolizumab pegol may improve clinical outcomes in patients with RA
In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, treatment with certolizumab pegol was shown to reduce synovitis and osteitis scores at week 16 as observed on MRI, according to study results.
Researchers randomly assigned 41 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) despite previous treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to receive treatment as part of the certolizumab pegol group (400 mg loading dose of certolizumab pegol every 2 weeks for weeks 0 to 4 followed by 200 mg of certolizumab pegol every 2 weeks from weeks 6 to 16) or placebo group (placebo from weeks 0 to 2 followed by a certolizumab pegol loading dose from weeks 2 to 6 and 200 mg of certolizumab pegol every 2 weeks from weeks 8 to 16). Patients had been diagnosed with adult-onset RA for 3 months to 15 years, and baseline disease characteristics were similar in all patients.
The researchers obtained contrast-enhanced MRIs of one hand and wrist from each patient at baseline and again at weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16. The images were interpreted by an experienced rheumatologist blinded to patient identity, treatment and time point using the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials RA MRI scoring system.
Study results showed significant reductions in synovitis and osteitis scores by week 16 from baseline among the patients in the certolizumab pegol group. Although numerical reductions in MRI inflammation were seen between weeks 1 and 2 among patients in the treatment group, the reductions were not considered to be statistically significant, according to the researchers.
Bone marrow edema scores were significantly reduced, and bone erosion scores remained relatively unchanged.
Adverse events were reported to be mild and included herpes viral infections and upper respiratory infections. No serious infections or death were reported.
Disclosure: See the study for a full list of all authors’ relevant financial disclosures.