Spondyloarthropathies News

There is a high rate of chronic widespread pain among patients with ankylosing spondylitis and undifferentiated spondyloarthritis, with an even higher prevalence among women, according to findings published in BMC Rheumatology.

Researchers from the Hospital for Special Surgery are currently enrolling patients for a 2-year pilot study to determine the effects of secukinumab on the skeleton among men and women with ankylosing spondylitis, according to a press release.

BOSTON — Several biologic therapies used by rheumatologists, including rituximab, tocilizumab, abatacept and others, can increase the risk for infectious disease in patients, according to findings presented here.

BOSTON — Biosimilar competition in Europe has significantly decreased the cost of medication, and has not only increased biosimilar availability but also increased the market share of bio-originators for which there is no biosimilar, according to a speaker at the 2018 Interdisciplinary Autoimmune Summit.

BOSTON — The recently published results of the CANTOS trial, which demonstrated that targeting inflammation significantly improved cardiovascular mortality outcomes, could drastically impact the focus of treatment for patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, according to recent presentation here.

BOSTON — Advances in the understanding of epigenetic modifications — changes in gene activity without changes in DNA sequencing — could lead to the development of new biomarkers and potential therapies for immune-modulated inflammatory diseases, according to a presentation given at the Interdisciplinary Autoimmune Summit.

BOSTON — Rheumatologists, gastroenterologists, dermatologists, immunologists and other health care providers who care for patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases will gather at the Interdisciplinary Autoimmune Summit in Boston this weekend for a collaborative discussion of treatment strategies.

Although children diagnosed with juvenile spondyloarthritis demonstrate a low rate of symptomatic activity at onset, there is a marked increase in axial involvement in most patients after 5 years, according to findings published in Pediatric Rheumatology.

Among patients with nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis, treatment with adalimumab provided sustained remission, with long-term clinical and functional improvements maintained through 3 years, according to findings published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Certolizumab pegol for chronic inflammatory disease does not pose a teratogenic risk for pregnant women, nor does it increase the risk for fetal death, according to findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.