Rheumatology Medical News about ankylosing spondylitis;Etanercept;longterm treatment

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Etanercept in the longterm treatment of patients with ankylosing spondylitis
Journal of Rheumatology, 06/11/09

Dijkmans B et al. – In the two year study period, etanercept was clinically effective and well tolerated, with no unexpected safety findings, in pts with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Methods

An evaluation of the 2-yr efficacy and safety of etanercept in pts with AS
A 96-wk open-label extension study, which followed a 12-wk double-blind placebo-controlled trial
Pts were treated with etanercept 25 mg x2/wk
In all, 81 pts were enrolled (96% of the participants from the double-blind study)
Key efficacy measures: improvement using-
- Assessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis 20% (ASAS20) criteria
- Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), and
- Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI)
Radiographic progression was evaluated using the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score (mSASSS) method

Results

Percentage of responders, by ASAS20 criteria, remained relatively constant in pts who received etanercept during the 12-wk double-blind study
More pts from the placebo group became responders after being switched to etanercept
A similar trend was also observed using the ASAS40 and ASAS5/6 criteria, the BASFI, and the BASDAI
Most pts had no change from baseline in mSASSS values
Etanercept was well tolerated:
- Most frequent AEs were injection site reactions, and headache
- Most frequent infections were upper respiratory tract infections and flu syndrome

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