Patricia Inacio PhD,  —

The diagnosis of rare diseases such as akylosing spondylitis (AS) is complex and often delayed. A partnership between U.S. researchers aims to use artificial intelligence to develop a software to diagnose rare diseases sooner. The four-year project, led by researchers at the University of Florida Health and the Perelman School…

Women with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) are diagnosed significantly later compared to men, according to a new study. The presence of widespread pain and arthritis were the early symptoms most commonly found in women and linked with a diagnosis delay. The study, “Gender-related differences in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA)…

People with ankylosing spondylitis (AS)-related kyphosis — a “humpback” appearance — showed good post-surgery outcomes with a technique called satellite rods, a Chinese study shows. The use of satellite rods had been linked to a lower rate of complications in people undergoing spinal surgery, but its use in AS-related kyphosis…

A new and citrate-free formulation of Taltz (ixekizumab) is being made available to treat adults with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) patients who have signs of inflammation. Symptoms of nr-axSpA are similar to AS, but without X-ray evidence of inflammation. This formulation of the Eli Lilly therapy was…

The first healthy volunteer in the U.S. has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating IMG-004, an oral inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) being developed as a potential therapy for a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including ankylosing spondylitis (AS). In the Phase 1…

Health Canada has approved Rinvoq (upadacitinib) to treat active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in adults who fail to respond to a biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) or cannot tolerate these therapies. Rinvoq, developed and marketed by AbbVie, can be used alone or in combination with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a common first…

Obesity is a risk factor for worse overall health in people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and is associated with increased inflammation, disease activity, and cardiovascular risk, a Taiwanese study has found. Therefore, preventing obesity in these patients is important to help improve their disease outcomes, researchers said. The…

Cosentyx (secukinumab) has been approved in the U.S. to treat people with active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), its developer, Novartis, has announced. The approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) follows a similar decision by the European Commission in April. In both the…

After its approval last year, Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) may now be the most prescribed therapy in the U.S. for people with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), according to an online survey of 98 rheumatologists. Cimzia is the only therapy currently approved in the U.S. for the treatment of…

The number of treatments for children with rare diseases has grown over the past decade, according to a new study. However, despite the increase, nearly 7,000 rare diseases are still lacking treatment. And federal incentives to boost treatment development for these rare diseases have primarily focused not on creating new…