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Addition of denosumab to methotrexate inhibits structural damage in patients with RA, according to study results
What's This?
Adding twice-yearly injections of denosumab to methotrexate therapy appears to inhibit structural damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, with no increase in the rates of adverse events relative to placebo, study data indicate.
Researchers conducted a double-blind, Phase II study in which patients with RA who were receiving methotrexate were randomized to receive add-on therapy with denosumab in doses of 60 mg (n=71) or 180 mg (n=72) or placebo injections (n=75) every 6...
Adding twice-yearly injections of denosumab to methotrexate therapy appears to inhibit structural damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, with no increase in the rates of adverse events relative to placebo, study data indicate.
Researchers conducted a double-blind, Phase II study in which patients with RA who were receiving methotrexate were randomized to receive add-on therapy with denosumab in doses of 60 mg (n=71) or 180 mg (n=72) or placebo injections (n=75) every 6 months for 12 months. The primary outcome measure was the change from baseline in magnetic resonance imaging erosion scores at 6 months.
The increase in mean MRI erosion scores from baseline was lower among the denosumab-treated patients at 6 months than among those who received placebo, although the difference only reached statistical significance among the patients who received the 180 mg dose of denosumab (P=.007).
Further, compared with placebo, the mean increases in modified Sharp scores were significantly lower among the patients in the denosumab 180 mg group at 6 months (P=.019) and 12 months (P=.007), and among the denosumab 60 mg group at 12 months (P=.012).
In addition, the denosumab-treated patients experienced sustained suppression of bone turnover markers and an increase in bone mineral density (BMD) relative to baseline values. However, there was no evidence of an effect on joint space narrowing or on measures of RA disease activity, the authors noted.
Rates of adverse events were comparable among all 3 treatment groups, according to the researchers.
"[T]he results of this study demonstrated that the addition of twice-yearly injections of denosumab to ongoing treatment with methotrexate inhibited structural damage, improved BMD, and suppressed bone turnover in [patients with RA], without increasing the rate of adverse events as compared with placebo treatment," the authors concluded. (Cohen SB, et al. Arthritis Rheum 2008;58:1299-1309.)
The study was supported by Amgen Inc.
This information concerns a use that has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Low-dose prednisolone added to DMARDs in early RA appears to increase rate of remission, decrease longer-term joint destruction, new findings reveal 
What's This?
New data support the use of low-dose prednisolone in combination with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in early rheumatoid arthritis.In the BARFOT glucocorticoid study, researchers evaluated treatment with prednisolone 7.5 mg/day added to initial DMARD therapy and compared that with treatment consisting of only a DMARD during 2 years in patients with early RA; radiographic progression was the primary outcome. As part of an extension to the BARFOT study, they sought to...
Step-up therapy with sulfasalazine, methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine similarly effective to parallel triple therapy among patients with early RA, data suggest
What's This?
Treatment with sulfasalazine, methotrexate, and hydroxychloroquine in a step-up regimen or as parallel triple therapy appears to be similarly effective for individuals with early rheumatoid arthritis, researchers recently reported.To compare the effectiveness of the 2 regimens, 96 patients with early RA (mean disease duration, 11.5 months) and active disease (28-item Disease Activity Score [DAS28] of >5.1) were randomized to 1 of these 2 treatment strategies.
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One-year treatment with fulvestrant appears to improve SLE disease activity in premenopausal women, small study shows
What's This?
Premenopausal women with moderately active systemic lupus erythematosus may benefit from treatment with fulvestrant, an estrogen receptor antagonist, according to data from a 1-year, double-blind study.According to the researchers, previous findings have demonstrated that T cell activation by estrogen in human lupus T cells could be blocked by in vitro incubation with fulvestrant. The present study, which included 20 women with moderate SLE (average SLE Disease Activity Index...
Study finds no increased risk of CVD in patients with inflammatory polyarthritis treated with NSAIDs
What's This?
The use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs does not appear to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with inflammatory polyarthritis (IP), according to the results of a recently published study.For the study, researchers followed 923 patients with new-onset IP; the patients had been enrolled in the U.K. Norfolk Arthritis Register between 1990 and 1994 and were followed through the end of 2003. Their current drug use was recorded annually for the first 6...
EULAR 2007 Annual Congress
June 13-16, 2007 Barcelona, Spain- Anti-TNF agents improve signs, symptoms of AS without preventing progression of radiographic damage; many questions remain unanswered, according to panel of experts
- First-line anti-TNF agents yield high rate of long-term response, well tolerated in patients with AS, study demonstrates
- Anti-TNF agents may slow, protect against RA-related joint destruction, disability, work loss
- Patients with RA, PsA, AS who have not responded to etanercept, infliximab show response to adalimumab, according to subanalyses
- Etanercept remains efficacious for up to 212 weeks in AS
ACR 2007 Scientific Meeting
November 6-11, 2007 Boston, MA- Adalimumab, etanercept safe, efficacious in long-term treatment of JRA, researchers report
- Rituximab efficacious in patients with inadequate response to TNF inhibitors in repeated courses
- Treatment expectations with TNF inhibitors
- Tocilizumab improves function, QOL in patients with RA who respond inadequately to conventional DMARDs, researchers report
- Abatacept improves disease activity, physical function, QOL in prior, current users of anti-TNF therapy, study data show
- Adalimumab, etanercept safe, efficacious in long-term treatment of JRA, researchers report
- Denosumab, certolizumab show promise as potential treatments in RA
- Golimumab improves signs, symptoms, physical function among patients with AS, study data show
- Adalimumab improves peripheral arthritis, enthesitis, axial signs, symptoms of AS in patients with long-standing disease treated in real-life practice, researchers report
- Infliximab improves spinal mobility in AS, data reveal
- Canadian Rheumatology Association, Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada publish recommendations for treatment of SpA
- Increase in risk of heart failure slight among younger anti-TNF-treated patients with RA, Crohn's disease
- Disease activity at 3 months closely predicts disease activity at 1 year in patients with RA, study data show
- Etanercept safe, effective in long-term treatment of AS
- Short-term intensive exercise training provides lasting benefits in patients with RA, OA, study data show
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