Author Archives: Margarida Maia PhD

People with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who report more severe pain and disease activity, and poorer quality of life, continue to work despite their AS — yet their productivity is far less than that of patients whose outcomes are not as severe. That’s according to a new analysis of data…

A man with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) went into disease remission within three months of receiving BCD-180, an experimental antibody designed to deplete a type of immune cell called TRBV9-positive T-cells, a study reports. He also stopped treatment with the TNF inhibitors he had taken continuously for five years,…

Note: This story was updated Oct. 31, 2023, to clarify that opioid use correlates with, rather than causes, an increased risk of bone fractures. People with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who are taking opioids — to relieve pain or for other reasons — are up to almost twice as likely…

Children with one or more older siblings are up to 34% as likely as those who don’t have older siblings to develop ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a large Swedish study found. Having a tonsillectomy, a surgery to remove the tonsils when they repeatedly become infected before age 16, increased the…

People with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) respond equally well to two types of medications that ease inflammation — tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors or interleukin-17 (IL-17) inhibitors — regardless of their imaging findings or C-reactive protein (CRP) levels before treatment, a meta-analysis has found. This suggests that neither magnetic resonance imaging…

Women with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) tend to be older and have longer, more active disease than men, a small study in Turkey has found. They also tend to have more inflammation of the enthesis, which is where a tendon or ligament inserts into the bone, and peripheral arthritis, or…

A chronic inflammatory condition known as non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) remained undetectable on X-ray for most people with active disease who were on treatment with Cosentyx (secukinumab) for up to two years. That’s according to new data from PREVENT (NCT02696031), a Phase 3 clinical study that also showed sustained…

Anxiety and depression, but not resilience, were found to be linked to poorer overall health and functioning in people with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) — mostly men and almost all Chinese — who took part in a study done by researchers in Singapore. “Clinicians could consider routinely screening for anxiety and…

Amgen’s Amjevita, the first biosimilar to Humira (adalimumab) to receive approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is now available in the U.S. for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and other diseases. While the medication was initially approved in 2016, Amjevita is only now reaching…

Alvotech has launched a Phase 1 clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of AVT05, its biosimilar drug candidate to Simponi (golimumab) — being developed for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and other diseases marked by inflammation. The study (NCT05632211) is enrolling more than…