Author Archives: Marisa Wexler MS

The approved therapy Taltz (ixekizumab) can effectively ease symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis and related forms of arthritis that affect the spine, a new analysis shows. The study, “The Efficacy and Safety of Subcutaneous Ixekizumab for the Treatment of Axial Spondylarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,”…

Adults with ankylosing spondylitis and other forms of arthritis are significantly less likely to be employed than people without arthritis, according to a new analysis from the U.K. Results suggest the effect of arthritis on employment is especially pronounced in certain demographic groups, particularly women and people without college…

A year of treatment with bimekizumab was safe and significantly eased symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in participants of two Phase 3 clinical trials, regardless of whether they had been treated previously with inhibitors of the pro-inflammatory molecule TNF. “Treatment with bimekizumab resulted in rapid and clinically relevant…

People with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriasis — a skin disease causing red, scaly, itchy patches that often occur on the elbows, knees, trunk, and scalp — are more likely than those with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) to have back pain, but less likely to have nail lesions, according to…

Side effects to anti-TNF therapies are as common and similar among people with ankylosing spondylitis as they are among other rheumatic diseases, a new study indicates. The study, “Disease-specific ADRs of TNF-[alpha] inhibitors as reported by patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a registry-based prospective multicenter cohort study,” was…

In the U.S., people with ankylosing spondylitis who report more difficulties in their day-to-day life also tend to have higher healthcare costs, according to a new analysis. “The results presented provide further evidence of the economic burden and increased resource use experienced by patients with more severe physical disability…

Medications that block the activity of the pro-inflammatory molecule interleukin-17A (IL-17A) can ease symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), but further research is needed to evaluate their safety, according to an analysis. These findings were in the study “Efficacy and safety of interleukin-17A inhibitors in patients with ankylosing…

AbbVie‘s Rinvoq (upadacitinib) has been approved in the European Union to treat active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in adults who have responded inadequately to conventional therapy. The European Commission also approved Rinvoq to treat active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in adults who have not responded to, or are…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a generic version of Pfizer‘s Celebrex (celecoxib), an oral medication used to treat inflammation and pain caused by ankylosing spondylitis and other disorders. The new generic is made by the India-based company Unichem Laboratories, which announced the approval…

Among people with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) — a type of arthritis that mainly affects the joints of the spine — women tend to have more severe disease than men do, as well as a poorer response to treatment, a Swiss study indicates. This finding may have implications…