Patricia Inacio PhD,  —

Results from a Phase 3 clinical trial show that treatment with Cosentyx (secukinumab) led to fast, significant, and sustained symptom improvement in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Improvements were particularly noticeable in patients who had never been treated with anti-TNF (tumor necrosis factor) therapies. The study, “…

Two single variants in immune system-related genes may help predict ankylosing spondylitis with active disease response to therapy. The study “The Diagnostic and Prognostic Role of Interleukin 12B and Interleukin 6R Gene Polymorphism in Patients With Ankylosing Spondylitis” was published in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology. Two pathways…

Early disease onset and long disease duration may increase the risk of additional diseases in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, according to the results of a Swedish study. The study, “Patterns of comorbidity and disease characteristics among patients with ankylosing spondylitis—a cross-sectional study,” was published in the journal…

Blood levels of a specific form of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies may help diagnose ankylosing spondylitis (AS) with high specificity, a small study reports. The study, “Serum IgG N-glycans act as novel serum biomarkers of ankylosing spondylitis“ was published in the journal Annals of Rheumatic Diseases.  AS is…

Methotrexate alone or combined with therapies targeting the inflammatory tumor necrosis factor (TNF) may help improve the endothelium function – the thin membrane that lines the inside of the heart and blood vessels – in patients with inflammatory arthritis. The study, “Methotrexate and anti-tumor necrosis factor treatment…

Novartis will present new four-year data from the MEASURE 1 study showing how Cosentyx (secukinumab) benefits patients with ankylosing spondylitis at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego, Nov. 3-8. The data shows that Cosentyx is capable of reducing structural disease progression in ankylosing spondylitis patients, which…

The European Commission recently granted a marketing authorization for Imraldi, a biosimilar approved to treat the same inflammatory diseases — including ankylosing spondylitis — as  Humira (adalimumab). Imraldi, developed by Samsung Bioepis — a partnership between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen — is…

A large-scale survey is underway for patients with a definite diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis and who know their blood type. The survey will allow researchers to determine whether blood type may be linked to a higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases. Early this year, the Scleroderma Education project conducted a…

Cholesterol-lowering medications called statins may lower mortality rates in patients with ankylosing spondylitis more efficiently than in the general population, new research suggests. The study, “Survival benefit of statin use in ankylosing spondylitis: a general population-based cohort study,” was published in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (ARD).

Novartis recently announced that its leading drug Cosentyx (secukinumab) improves both signs and symptoms of active ankylosing spondylitis (AS), according to the results of a three-year Phase 3 extension trial called MEASURE 1. The findings were presented recently at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2017) in Madrid, Spain.