Key clinical point: Treatment with an interleukin-17A inhibitor (IL-17Ai) may be desirable in biologic-naive patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) as it proved to be more effective and safer compared with other biologics.

Major finding: A higher number of patients achieved the composite endpoint of ≥50% improvement in American College of Rheumatology and 100% improvement in Psoriasis Area Severity Index (pooled risk ratio [RR] 1.56; 95% CI 1.29-1.88; P < .001) and enthesitis resolution (pooled RR 1.22; 95% CI 1.02-1.47) with IL17Ai vs TNFi. The probability of adverse events was the lowest with phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor (PDE4i) followed by IL-17Ai.

Study details: Findings are from a network meta-analysis of 17 studies including biologic-naive patients with PsA treated with IL inhibitor, TNFi, PDE4i, and Janus kinase inhibitors.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Lin J, Ren Y. Different biologics for biological-naïve patients with psoriatic arthritis: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol. 2024;15:1279525 (Mar 12). doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1279525  Source

Key clinical point: Treatment with an interleukin-17A inhibitor (IL-17Ai) may be desirable in biologic-naive patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) as it proved to be more effective and safer compared with other biologics.

Major finding: A higher number of patients achieved the composite endpoint of ≥50% improvement in American College of Rheumatology and 100% improvement in Psoriasis Area Severity Index (pooled risk ratio [RR] 1.56; 95% CI 1.29-1.88; P < .001) and enthesitis resolution (pooled RR 1.22; 95% CI 1.02-1.47) with IL17Ai vs TNFi. The probability of adverse events was the lowest with phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor (PDE4i) followed by IL-17Ai.

Study details: Findings are from a network meta-analysis of 17 studies including biologic-naive patients with PsA treated with IL inhibitor, TNFi, PDE4i, and Janus kinase inhibitors.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Lin J, Ren Y. Different biologics for biological-naïve patients with psoriatic arthritis: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol. 2024;15:1279525 (Mar 12). doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1279525  Source

Key clinical point: Treatment with an interleukin-17A inhibitor (IL-17Ai) may be desirable in biologic-naive patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) as it proved to be more effective and safer compared with other biologics.

Major finding: A higher number of patients achieved the composite endpoint of ≥50% improvement in American College of Rheumatology and 100% improvement in Psoriasis Area Severity Index (pooled risk ratio [RR] 1.56; 95% CI 1.29-1.88; P < .001) and enthesitis resolution (pooled RR 1.22; 95% CI 1.02-1.47) with IL17Ai vs TNFi. The probability of adverse events was the lowest with phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor (PDE4i) followed by IL-17Ai.

Study details: Findings are from a network meta-analysis of 17 studies including biologic-naive patients with PsA treated with IL inhibitor, TNFi, PDE4i, and Janus kinase inhibitors.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Lin J, Ren Y. Different biologics for biological-naïve patients with psoriatic arthritis: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol. 2024;15:1279525 (Mar 12). doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1279525  Source

Key clinical point: Risankizumab led to considerable improvements in skin- and joint-associated clinical outcomes in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were followed-up for >28 weeks.

Major finding: Of the 31 patients with clinical disease activity index for PsA > 4 at baseline, 11 patients achieved remission at a follow-up visit between 28 and 40 weeks (P < .004). Risankizumab also led to a significant reduction in the mean psoriasis area severity index score between weeks 28 and 40 vs baseline (0.3 vs 8.4; P < .001).

Study details: Findings are from a prospective, multicenter real-world study including 40 patients with PsA who were treated with 150 mg risankizumab at week 0 and week 4 and every 12 weeks subsequently.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. Five authors declared receiving consulting fees or honoraria from or having other ties with various sources. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Graceffa D, Zangrilli A, Caldarola G, et al. Effectiveness of risankizumab for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis: A multicenter, real-world study. Int J Dermatol. 2024 (Apr 7). doi: 10.1111/ijd.17156 Source

Key clinical point: Risankizumab led to considerable improvements in skin- and joint-associated clinical outcomes in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were followed-up for >28 weeks.

Major finding: Of the 31 patients with clinical disease activity index for PsA > 4 at baseline, 11 patients achieved remission at a follow-up visit between 28 and 40 weeks (P < .004). Risankizumab also led to a significant reduction in the mean psoriasis area severity index score between weeks 28 and 40 vs baseline (0.3 vs 8.4; P < .001).

Study details: Findings are from a prospective, multicenter real-world study including 40 patients with PsA who were treated with 150 mg risankizumab at week 0 and week 4 and every 12 weeks subsequently.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. Five authors declared receiving consulting fees or honoraria from or having other ties with various sources. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Graceffa D, Zangrilli A, Caldarola G, et al. Effectiveness of risankizumab for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis: A multicenter, real-world study. Int J Dermatol. 2024 (Apr 7). doi: 10.1111/ijd.17156 Source

Key clinical point: Risankizumab led to considerable improvements in skin- and joint-associated clinical outcomes in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were followed-up for >28 weeks.

Major finding: Of the 31 patients with clinical disease activity index for PsA > 4 at baseline, 11 patients achieved remission at a follow-up visit between 28 and 40 weeks (P < .004). Risankizumab also led to a significant reduction in the mean psoriasis area severity index score between weeks 28 and 40 vs baseline (0.3 vs 8.4; P < .001).

Study details: Findings are from a prospective, multicenter real-world study including 40 patients with PsA who were treated with 150 mg risankizumab at week 0 and week 4 and every 12 weeks subsequently.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. Five authors declared receiving consulting fees or honoraria from or having other ties with various sources. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Graceffa D, Zangrilli A, Caldarola G, et al. Effectiveness of risankizumab for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis: A multicenter, real-world study. Int J Dermatol. 2024 (Apr 7). doi: 10.1111/ijd.17156 Source

Key clinical point: A quarter of patients with early psoriatic arthritis who were naive to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) reported bone erosions, with a decreased prevalence being observed in patients with shorter duration of PsA symptoms (<8 months).

Major finding: Overall, 4655 hand and feet joints were assessed in 122 patients, of whom 24.6% patients had bone erosions at baseline, with higher Disease Activity features observed in patients who did vs did not have bone erosions (P < .05). Prevalence of erosion was less in patients who had a <8 months vs >24 months of PsA symptoms (17.5% vs 24.3%).

Study details: This study included 122 newly diagnosed, DMARD-naive patients with early PsA from the Leeds Spondyloarthropathy Register for Research and Observation cohort who were assessed for bone erosions using conventional radiography or ultrasound.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the UK National Institute for Health Research Leeds Biomedical Research Centre. Sayam R. Dubash received support from Leeds Cares charity. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Hen O, Di Matteo A, Dubash SR, et al. High prevalence of radiographic erosions in early, untreated PsA: Results from the SpARRO cohort. RMD Open. 2024;10:e003841 (Apr 5). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003841 Source

Key clinical point: A quarter of patients with early psoriatic arthritis who were naive to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) reported bone erosions, with a decreased prevalence being observed in patients with shorter duration of PsA symptoms (<8 months).

Major finding: Overall, 4655 hand and feet joints were assessed in 122 patients, of whom 24.6% patients had bone erosions at baseline, with higher Disease Activity features observed in patients who did vs did not have bone erosions (P < .05). Prevalence of erosion was less in patients who had a <8 months vs >24 months of PsA symptoms (17.5% vs 24.3%).

Study details: This study included 122 newly diagnosed, DMARD-naive patients with early PsA from the Leeds Spondyloarthropathy Register for Research and Observation cohort who were assessed for bone erosions using conventional radiography or ultrasound.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the UK National Institute for Health Research Leeds Biomedical Research Centre. Sayam R. Dubash received support from Leeds Cares charity. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Hen O, Di Matteo A, Dubash SR, et al. High prevalence of radiographic erosions in early, untreated PsA: Results from the SpARRO cohort. RMD Open. 2024;10:e003841 (Apr 5). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003841 Source

Key clinical point: A quarter of patients with early psoriatic arthritis who were naive to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) reported bone erosions, with a decreased prevalence being observed in patients with shorter duration of PsA symptoms (<8 months).

Major finding: Overall, 4655 hand and feet joints were assessed in 122 patients, of whom 24.6% patients had bone erosions at baseline, with higher Disease Activity features observed in patients who did vs did not have bone erosions (P < .05). Prevalence of erosion was less in patients who had a <8 months vs >24 months of PsA symptoms (17.5% vs 24.3%).

Study details: This study included 122 newly diagnosed, DMARD-naive patients with early PsA from the Leeds Spondyloarthropathy Register for Research and Observation cohort who were assessed for bone erosions using conventional radiography or ultrasound.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the UK National Institute for Health Research Leeds Biomedical Research Centre. Sayam R. Dubash received support from Leeds Cares charity. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Hen O, Di Matteo A, Dubash SR, et al. High prevalence of radiographic erosions in early, untreated PsA: Results from the SpARRO cohort. RMD Open. 2024;10:e003841 (Apr 5). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003841 Source

Key clinical point: Deucravacitinib improved patient-reported outcomes (PRO) for physical and social functioning, mental health, fatigue, and pain in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Major finding: At week 16, 6 mg deucravacitinib vs placebo led to significant changes in functional ability as assessed by the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (−0.26; 95% CI −0.42 to −0.10) and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey physical component summary (3.3; 95% CI 0.9 to 5.7), with similar outcomes for 12 mg deucravacitinib. Improvements were also noted in mental health and quality of life at week 16 with deucravacitinib vs placebo.

Study details: Findings are from a phase 2, double-blind trial that included 203 patients with active PsA who were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive 6 mg deucravacitinib daily (n = 70), 12 mg deucravacitinib daily (n = 67), or placebo (n = 66) for 16 weeks.

Disclosures: This study was sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Strand V, Gossec L, Coates LC, et al. Improvements in patient-reported outcomes after treatment with deucravacitinib in patients with psoriatic arthritis: Results from a randomized phase 2 trial. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2024 (Mar 26). doi: 10.1002/acr.25333  Source

Key clinical point: Deucravacitinib improved patient-reported outcomes (PRO) for physical and social functioning, mental health, fatigue, and pain in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Major finding: At week 16, 6 mg deucravacitinib vs placebo led to significant changes in functional ability as assessed by the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (−0.26; 95% CI −0.42 to −0.10) and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey physical component summary (3.3; 95% CI 0.9 to 5.7), with similar outcomes for 12 mg deucravacitinib. Improvements were also noted in mental health and quality of life at week 16 with deucravacitinib vs placebo.

Study details: Findings are from a phase 2, double-blind trial that included 203 patients with active PsA who were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive 6 mg deucravacitinib daily (n = 70), 12 mg deucravacitinib daily (n = 67), or placebo (n = 66) for 16 weeks.

Disclosures: This study was sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Strand V, Gossec L, Coates LC, et al. Improvements in patient-reported outcomes after treatment with deucravacitinib in patients with psoriatic arthritis: Results from a randomized phase 2 trial. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2024 (Mar 26). doi: 10.1002/acr.25333  Source

Key clinical point: Deucravacitinib improved patient-reported outcomes (PRO) for physical and social functioning, mental health, fatigue, and pain in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Major finding: At week 16, 6 mg deucravacitinib vs placebo led to significant changes in functional ability as assessed by the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (−0.26; 95% CI −0.42 to −0.10) and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey physical component summary (3.3; 95% CI 0.9 to 5.7), with similar outcomes for 12 mg deucravacitinib. Improvements were also noted in mental health and quality of life at week 16 with deucravacitinib vs placebo.

Study details: Findings are from a phase 2, double-blind trial that included 203 patients with active PsA who were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive 6 mg deucravacitinib daily (n = 70), 12 mg deucravacitinib daily (n = 67), or placebo (n = 66) for 16 weeks.

Disclosures: This study was sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Strand V, Gossec L, Coates LC, et al. Improvements in patient-reported outcomes after treatment with deucravacitinib in patients with psoriatic arthritis: Results from a randomized phase 2 trial. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2024 (Mar 26). doi: 10.1002/acr.25333  Source

Key clinical point: Among biologic-naive, guselkumab-treated patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), enthesitis resolution (ER) was associated with dactylitis resolution (DR), and those achieving ER or DR showed improvements in patient-reported outcomes.

Major finding: At weeks 24, 52, and 100, guselkumab-treated patients who achieved DR were more likely to achieve ER, and vice versa (all P < .05). At week 24, a higher proportion of patients who did vs did not achieve ER reported minimal pain (30%-45% vs 11%-21%; all P < .001), with similar pain outcomes in patients who did vs did not achieve DR.

Study details: This post hoc analysis included 739 biologic-naive patients with PsA who were randomly assigned to receive guselkumab (100 mg every 4 or 8 weeks) or placebo with crossover to guselkumab (100 mg every 4 weeks) at week 24, of whom 68.6% and 44.9% of patients had enthesitis and dactylitis, respectively.

Disclosures: This study was supported by Janssen Research & Development, LLC. Six authors declared being employees of Janssen and owning Johnson and Johnson stock or stock options. The other authors declared receiving consulting fees from or having other ties with various sources, including Janssen.

Source: Rahman P, McInnes IB, Deodhar A, et al. Association between enthesitis/dactylitis resolution and patient-reported outcomes in guselkumab-treated patients with psoriatic arthritis. Clin Rheumatol. 2024;43:1591-1604 (Mar 12). doi: 10.1007/s10067-024-06921-8  Source

Key clinical point: Among biologic-naive, guselkumab-treated patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), enthesitis resolution (ER) was associated with dactylitis resolution (DR), and those achieving ER or DR showed improvements in patient-reported outcomes.

Major finding: At weeks 24, 52, and 100, guselkumab-treated patients who achieved DR were more likely to achieve ER, and vice versa (all P < .05). At week 24, a higher proportion of patients who did vs did not achieve ER reported minimal pain (30%-45% vs 11%-21%; all P < .001), with similar pain outcomes in patients who did vs did not achieve DR.

Study details: This post hoc analysis included 739 biologic-naive patients with PsA who were randomly assigned to receive guselkumab (100 mg every 4 or 8 weeks) or placebo with crossover to guselkumab (100 mg every 4 weeks) at week 24, of whom 68.6% and 44.9% of patients had enthesitis and dactylitis, respectively.

Disclosures: This study was supported by Janssen Research & Development, LLC. Six authors declared being employees of Janssen and owning Johnson and Johnson stock or stock options. The other authors declared receiving consulting fees from or having other ties with various sources, including Janssen.

Source: Rahman P, McInnes IB, Deodhar A, et al. Association between enthesitis/dactylitis resolution and patient-reported outcomes in guselkumab-treated patients with psoriatic arthritis. Clin Rheumatol. 2024;43:1591-1604 (Mar 12). doi: 10.1007/s10067-024-06921-8  Source

Key clinical point: Among biologic-naive, guselkumab-treated patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), enthesitis resolution (ER) was associated with dactylitis resolution (DR), and those achieving ER or DR showed improvements in patient-reported outcomes.

Major finding: At weeks 24, 52, and 100, guselkumab-treated patients who achieved DR were more likely to achieve ER, and vice versa (all P < .05). At week 24, a higher proportion of patients who did vs did not achieve ER reported minimal pain (30%-45% vs 11%-21%; all P < .001), with similar pain outcomes in patients who did vs did not achieve DR.

Study details: This post hoc analysis included 739 biologic-naive patients with PsA who were randomly assigned to receive guselkumab (100 mg every 4 or 8 weeks) or placebo with crossover to guselkumab (100 mg every 4 weeks) at week 24, of whom 68.6% and 44.9% of patients had enthesitis and dactylitis, respectively.

Disclosures: This study was supported by Janssen Research & Development, LLC. Six authors declared being employees of Janssen and owning Johnson and Johnson stock or stock options. The other authors declared receiving consulting fees from or having other ties with various sources, including Janssen.

Source: Rahman P, McInnes IB, Deodhar A, et al. Association between enthesitis/dactylitis resolution and patient-reported outcomes in guselkumab-treated patients with psoriatic arthritis. Clin Rheumatol. 2024;43:1591-1604 (Mar 12). doi: 10.1007/s10067-024-06921-8  Source

Key clinical point: Guselkumab treatment led to durable improvements in key Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA)-recognized domains through 2 years and showed a consistent safety profile in biologic or Janus kinase inhibitor-naive patients with active PsA.

Major finding: At week 100, more than 50% of patients receiving guselkumab (100 mg every 4 or 8 weeks) achieved  achieved a low PsA Disease Activity Index, had enthesitis resolution, dactylitis resolution, and 100% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. No new safety signals were observed.

Study details: This post hoc analysis included 442 biologic or Janus kinase inhibitor-naive patients with active PsA and previous inadequate response or intolerance to standard nonbiologics who received 100 mg guselkumab every 4 or 8 weeks through week 100.

Disclosures: This study was supported by Janssen Research & Development (R&D), LLC. Three authors declared being employees of Janssen R&D and owning Johnson and Johnson stocks or stock options. Several authors declared receiving honoraria from or having other ties with various sources, including Janssen.

Source: Coates LC, Gossec L, Zimmermann M, et al. Guselkumab provides durable improvement across psoriatic arthritis disease domains: Post hoc analysis of a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. RMD Open. 2024;10:e003977 (Mar 26). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003977 Source

Key clinical point: Guselkumab treatment led to durable improvements in key Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA)-recognized domains through 2 years and showed a consistent safety profile in biologic or Janus kinase inhibitor-naive patients with active PsA.

Major finding: At week 100, more than 50% of patients receiving guselkumab (100 mg every 4 or 8 weeks) achieved  achieved a low PsA Disease Activity Index, had enthesitis resolution, dactylitis resolution, and 100% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. No new safety signals were observed.

Study details: This post hoc analysis included 442 biologic or Janus kinase inhibitor-naive patients with active PsA and previous inadequate response or intolerance to standard nonbiologics who received 100 mg guselkumab every 4 or 8 weeks through week 100.

Disclosures: This study was supported by Janssen Research & Development (R&D), LLC. Three authors declared being employees of Janssen R&D and owning Johnson and Johnson stocks or stock options. Several authors declared receiving honoraria from or having other ties with various sources, including Janssen.

Source: Coates LC, Gossec L, Zimmermann M, et al. Guselkumab provides durable improvement across psoriatic arthritis disease domains: Post hoc analysis of a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. RMD Open. 2024;10:e003977 (Mar 26). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003977 Source

Key clinical point: Guselkumab treatment led to durable improvements in key Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA)-recognized domains through 2 years and showed a consistent safety profile in biologic or Janus kinase inhibitor-naive patients with active PsA.

Major finding: At week 100, more than 50% of patients receiving guselkumab (100 mg every 4 or 8 weeks) achieved  achieved a low PsA Disease Activity Index, had enthesitis resolution, dactylitis resolution, and 100% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. No new safety signals were observed.

Study details: This post hoc analysis included 442 biologic or Janus kinase inhibitor-naive patients with active PsA and previous inadequate response or intolerance to standard nonbiologics who received 100 mg guselkumab every 4 or 8 weeks through week 100.

Disclosures: This study was supported by Janssen Research & Development (R&D), LLC. Three authors declared being employees of Janssen R&D and owning Johnson and Johnson stocks or stock options. Several authors declared receiving honoraria from or having other ties with various sources, including Janssen.

Source: Coates LC, Gossec L, Zimmermann M, et al. Guselkumab provides durable improvement across psoriatic arthritis disease domains: Post hoc analysis of a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. RMD Open. 2024;10:e003977 (Mar 26). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003977 Source

Key clinical point: Risankizumab showed long-term efficacy and tolerability in patients having active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with previous inadequate response or intolerance to one or more conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD-IR).

Major finding: At week 100, more than half the patients who received risankizumab continuously (64.3%) or switched from placebo to risankizumab (62.1%) achieved ≥20% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR20), with Minimal Disease Activity being reported by nearly 35% of patients in both cohorts. Risankizumab showed a consistent safety profile with no new concerns.

Study details: This long-term efficacy and safety analysis of the KEEPsAKE 1 trial included 828 csDMARD-IR patients with active PsA who received risankizumab or placebo followed by risankizumab till week 100.

Disclosures: This study was funded by AbbVie. Seven authors declared being employees of or holding stocks or stock options in AbbVie. Several authors declared serving as consultants or speakers for or having other ties with various sources, including AbbVie.

Source: Kristensen LE, Keiserman M, Papp K, et al. Efficacy and safety of risankizumab for active psoriatic arthritis: 100-week results from the phase 3 KEEPsAKE 1 randomized clinical trial. Rheumatol Ther. 2024 (Mar 18). doi: 10.1007/s40744-024-00654-5 Source

Key clinical point: Risankizumab showed long-term efficacy and tolerability in patients having active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with previous inadequate response or intolerance to one or more conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD-IR).

Major finding: At week 100, more than half the patients who received risankizumab continuously (64.3%) or switched from placebo to risankizumab (62.1%) achieved ≥20% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR20), with Minimal Disease Activity being reported by nearly 35% of patients in both cohorts. Risankizumab showed a consistent safety profile with no new concerns.

Study details: This long-term efficacy and safety analysis of the KEEPsAKE 1 trial included 828 csDMARD-IR patients with active PsA who received risankizumab or placebo followed by risankizumab till week 100.

Disclosures: This study was funded by AbbVie. Seven authors declared being employees of or holding stocks or stock options in AbbVie. Several authors declared serving as consultants or speakers for or having other ties with various sources, including AbbVie.

Source: Kristensen LE, Keiserman M, Papp K, et al. Efficacy and safety of risankizumab for active psoriatic arthritis: 100-week results from the phase 3 KEEPsAKE 1 randomized clinical trial. Rheumatol Ther. 2024 (Mar 18). doi: 10.1007/s40744-024-00654-5 Source

Key clinical point: Risankizumab showed long-term efficacy and tolerability in patients having active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with previous inadequate response or intolerance to one or more conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD-IR).

Major finding: At week 100, more than half the patients who received risankizumab continuously (64.3%) or switched from placebo to risankizumab (62.1%) achieved ≥20% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR20), with Minimal Disease Activity being reported by nearly 35% of patients in both cohorts. Risankizumab showed a consistent safety profile with no new concerns.

Study details: This long-term efficacy and safety analysis of the KEEPsAKE 1 trial included 828 csDMARD-IR patients with active PsA who received risankizumab or placebo followed by risankizumab till week 100.

Disclosures: This study was funded by AbbVie. Seven authors declared being employees of or holding stocks or stock options in AbbVie. Several authors declared serving as consultants or speakers for or having other ties with various sources, including AbbVie.

Source: Kristensen LE, Keiserman M, Papp K, et al. Efficacy and safety of risankizumab for active psoriatic arthritis: 100-week results from the phase 3 KEEPsAKE 1 randomized clinical trial. Rheumatol Ther. 2024 (Mar 18). doi: 10.1007/s40744-024-00654-5 Source

Key clinical point: The overall risk for serious infections was low in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were new users of targeted therapies, with etanercept and ustekinumab being safer treatment options than adalimumab.

Major finding: The incidence of serious infections in new users of targeted therapies was 17.0 per 1000 person-years. Compared with new users of adalimumab, the risk for serious infections was significantly lower in new users of etanercept (weighted hazard ratio [wHR] 0.72; 95% CI 0.53-0.97) and ustekinumab (wHR 0.57; 95% CI 0.35-0.93).

Study details: This cohort study included 12,071 patients with PsA (age ≥ 18 years) from the French National Health Insurance Database who were new users of targeted therapies (adalimumab, etanercept, golimumab, certolizumab pegol, infliximab, secukinumab, ixekizumab, ustekinumab, and tofacitinib).

Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding. Two authors declared receiving meeting support, consulting fees, etc., from or having other ties with various sources. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Bastard L, Claudepierre P, Penso L, et al. Risk of serious infection associated with different classes of targeted therapies used in psoriatic arthritis: A nationwide cohort study from the French Health Insurance Database (SNDS). RMD Open. 2024;10:e003865 (Mar 14). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003865 Source

Key clinical point: The overall risk for serious infections was low in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were new users of targeted therapies, with etanercept and ustekinumab being safer treatment options than adalimumab.

Major finding: The incidence of serious infections in new users of targeted therapies was 17.0 per 1000 person-years. Compared with new users of adalimumab, the risk for serious infections was significantly lower in new users of etanercept (weighted hazard ratio [wHR] 0.72; 95% CI 0.53-0.97) and ustekinumab (wHR 0.57; 95% CI 0.35-0.93).

Study details: This cohort study included 12,071 patients with PsA (age ≥ 18 years) from the French National Health Insurance Database who were new users of targeted therapies (adalimumab, etanercept, golimumab, certolizumab pegol, infliximab, secukinumab, ixekizumab, ustekinumab, and tofacitinib).

Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding. Two authors declared receiving meeting support, consulting fees, etc., from or having other ties with various sources. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Bastard L, Claudepierre P, Penso L, et al. Risk of serious infection associated with different classes of targeted therapies used in psoriatic arthritis: A nationwide cohort study from the French Health Insurance Database (SNDS). RMD Open. 2024;10:e003865 (Mar 14). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003865 Source

Key clinical point: The overall risk for serious infections was low in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were new users of targeted therapies, with etanercept and ustekinumab being safer treatment options than adalimumab.

Major finding: The incidence of serious infections in new users of targeted therapies was 17.0 per 1000 person-years. Compared with new users of adalimumab, the risk for serious infections was significantly lower in new users of etanercept (weighted hazard ratio [wHR] 0.72; 95% CI 0.53-0.97) and ustekinumab (wHR 0.57; 95% CI 0.35-0.93).

Study details: This cohort study included 12,071 patients with PsA (age ≥ 18 years) from the French National Health Insurance Database who were new users of targeted therapies (adalimumab, etanercept, golimumab, certolizumab pegol, infliximab, secukinumab, ixekizumab, ustekinumab, and tofacitinib).

Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding. Two authors declared receiving meeting support, consulting fees, etc., from or having other ties with various sources. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Bastard L, Claudepierre P, Penso L, et al. Risk of serious infection associated with different classes of targeted therapies used in psoriatic arthritis: A nationwide cohort study from the French Health Insurance Database (SNDS). RMD Open. 2024;10:e003865 (Mar 14). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003865 Source

Key clinical point: Bimekizumab showed better long-term efficacy than guselkumab in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were naive to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) or had previous inadequate response or intolerance to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi-IR).

Major finding: In bDMARD-naive patients, bimekizumab (160 mg every 4 weeks [Q4W]) was associated with a greater likelihood of achievement of ≥70% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology response (odds ratio [OR] > 2.0; P ≤ .001) and minimal disease activity outcome (OR > 1.5; P ≤ .005) at week 52 compared with guselkumab (100 mg Q4W or every 8 weeks). Similar outcomes were observed in the TNFi-IR subgroup.

Study details: This matching-adjusted indirect comparison study included bDMARD-naive and TNFi-IR patients with PsA who received bimekizumab (431 and 267 patients, respectively) and guselkumab (495 and 189 patients, respectively).

Disclosures: This study was sponsored by UCB Pharma. Four authors declared being employees and stockholders of UCB Pharma. The other authors declared receiving consulting fees or honoraria from or having other ties with various sources, including UCB Pharma.

Source: Warren RB, McInnes IB, Nash P, et al. Comparative effectiveness of bimekizumab and guselkumab in patients with psoriatic arthritis at 52 weeks assessed using a matching-adjusted indirect comparison. Rheumatol Ther. 2024 (Mar 15). doi: 10.1007/s40744-024-00659-0 Source

Key clinical point: Bimekizumab showed better long-term efficacy than guselkumab in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were naive to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) or had previous inadequate response or intolerance to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi-IR).

Major finding: In bDMARD-naive patients, bimekizumab (160 mg every 4 weeks [Q4W]) was associated with a greater likelihood of achievement of ≥70% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology response (odds ratio [OR] > 2.0; P ≤ .001) and minimal disease activity outcome (OR > 1.5; P ≤ .005) at week 52 compared with guselkumab (100 mg Q4W or every 8 weeks). Similar outcomes were observed in the TNFi-IR subgroup.

Study details: This matching-adjusted indirect comparison study included bDMARD-naive and TNFi-IR patients with PsA who received bimekizumab (431 and 267 patients, respectively) and guselkumab (495 and 189 patients, respectively).

Disclosures: This study was sponsored by UCB Pharma. Four authors declared being employees and stockholders of UCB Pharma. The other authors declared receiving consulting fees or honoraria from or having other ties with various sources, including UCB Pharma.

Source: Warren RB, McInnes IB, Nash P, et al. Comparative effectiveness of bimekizumab and guselkumab in patients with psoriatic arthritis at 52 weeks assessed using a matching-adjusted indirect comparison. Rheumatol Ther. 2024 (Mar 15). doi: 10.1007/s40744-024-00659-0 Source

Key clinical point: Bimekizumab showed better long-term efficacy than guselkumab in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were naive to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) or had previous inadequate response or intolerance to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi-IR).

Major finding: In bDMARD-naive patients, bimekizumab (160 mg every 4 weeks [Q4W]) was associated with a greater likelihood of achievement of ≥70% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology response (odds ratio [OR] > 2.0; P ≤ .001) and minimal disease activity outcome (OR > 1.5; P ≤ .005) at week 52 compared with guselkumab (100 mg Q4W or every 8 weeks). Similar outcomes were observed in the TNFi-IR subgroup.

Study details: This matching-adjusted indirect comparison study included bDMARD-naive and TNFi-IR patients with PsA who received bimekizumab (431 and 267 patients, respectively) and guselkumab (495 and 189 patients, respectively).

Disclosures: This study was sponsored by UCB Pharma. Four authors declared being employees and stockholders of UCB Pharma. The other authors declared receiving consulting fees or honoraria from or having other ties with various sources, including UCB Pharma.

Source: Warren RB, McInnes IB, Nash P, et al. Comparative effectiveness of bimekizumab and guselkumab in patients with psoriatic arthritis at 52 weeks assessed using a matching-adjusted indirect comparison. Rheumatol Ther. 2024 (Mar 15). doi: 10.1007/s40744-024-00659-0 Source

DENVER – Headaches, including tension-type, migraine, and posttraumatic, are robustly associated with both attempted and completed suicide, results of a large study suggest. 

The risk for suicide attempt was four times higher in people with trigeminal and autonomic cephalalgias (TAC), and the risk for completed suicide was double among those with posttraumatic headache compared with individuals with no headache.

The retrospective analysis included data on more than 100,000 headache patients from a Danish registry. 

“The results suggest there’s a unique risk among headache patients for attempted and completed suicide,” lead investigator Holly Elser, MD, MPH, PhD, resident, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, said at the 2024 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, where the findings were presented. “This really underscores the potential importance of complementary psychiatric evaluation and treatment for individuals diagnosed with headache.”
 

Underestimated Problem

Headache disorders affect about half of working-age adults and are among the leading causes of productivity loss, absence from work, and disability. 

Prior research suggests headache disorders often co-occur with psychiatric illness including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and even attempted suicide.

However, previous studies that showed an increased risk for attempted suicide in patients with headache relied heavily on survey data and mostly focused on patients with migraine. There was little information on other headache types and on the risk for completed suicide.

Researchers used Danish registries to identify 64,057 patients with migraine, 40,160 with tension-type headache (TTH), 5743 with TAC, and 4253 with posttraumatic headache, all diagnosed from 1995 to 2019.

Some 5.8% of those with migraine, 6.3% with TAC, 7.2% with TTH, and 7.2% with posttraumatic headache, had a mood disorder (depression and anxiety combined) at baseline.

Those without a headache diagnosis were matched 5:1 to those with a headache diagnosis by sex and birth year.

Across all headache disorders, baseline prevalence of mood disorder was higher among those with headache versus population-matched controls. Dr. Elser emphasized that these are people diagnosed with a mood disorder in the inpatient, emergency department, or outpatient specialist clinic setting, “which means we are almost certainly underestimating the true burden of mood symptoms in our cohort,” she said.

Researchers identified attempted suicides using diagnostic codes. For completed suicide, they determined whether those who attempted suicide died within 30 days of the attempt.

For each headache type, investigators examined both the absolute and relative risk for attempted and completed suicides and estimated the risk at intervals of 5, 10, and 20 years after initial headache diagnosis.
 

Robust Link

The “power of this study is that we asked a simple, but important question, and answered it with simple, but appropriate, methodologic techniques,” Dr. Elser said.

The estimated risk differences (RDs) for attempted suicide were strongest for TAC and posttraumatic headache and for longer follow-ups. The RDs for completed suicide were largely the same but of a smaller magnitude and were “relatively less precise,” reflecting the “rarity of this outcome,” said Dr. Elser.

After adjusting for sex, age, education, income, comorbidities, and baseline medical and psychiatric diagnoses, researchers found the strongest association or attempted suicide was among those with TAC (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 4.25; 95% CI, 2.85-6.33).

“A hazard ratio of 4 is enormous” for this type of comparison, Dr. Elser noted.

For completed suicide, the strongest association was with posttraumatic headache (aHR, 2.19; 95% CI, 0.78-6.16).

The study revealed a robust association with attempted and completed suicide across all headache types, including TTH, noted Dr. Elser. The link between tension headaches and suicide “was the most striking finding to me because I think of that as sort of a benign and common headache disorder,” she said.

The was an observational study, so “it’s not clear whether headache is playing an etiological role in the relationship with suicide,” she said. “It’s possible there are common shared risk factors or confounders that explain the relationship in full or in part that aren’t accounted for in this study.”
 

Ask About Mood

The results underscore the need for psychiatric evaluations in patients with a headache disorder. “For me, this is just going to make me that much more likely to ask my patients about their mood when I see them in clinic,” Dr. Elser said.

After asking patients with headache about their mood and stress at home and at work, physicians should have a “low threshold to refer to a behavioral health provider,” she added.

Future research should aim to better understand the link between headache and suicide risk, with a focus on the mechanisms behind low- and high-risk subgroups, said Dr. Elser.

A limitation of the study was that headache diagnoses were based on inpatient, emergency department, and outpatient specialist visits but not on visits to primary care practitioners. The study didn’t include information on headache severity or frequency and included only people who sought treatment for their headaches.

Though it’s unlikely the results “are perfectly generalizable” with respect to other geographical or cultural contexts, “I don’t think this relationship is unique to Denmark based on the literature to date,” Dr. Elser said.

Commenting on the study, session co-chair Todd J. Schwedt, MD, professor of neurology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, and president-elect of the American Headache Society, noted that the study offers important findings “that demonstrate the enormous negative impact that headaches can exert.”

It’s “a strong reminder” that clinicians should assess the mental health of their patients with headaches and offer treatment when appropriate, he said.

The study received support from Aarhus University. No relevant conflicts of interest were reported.
 

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

DENVER – Headaches, including tension-type, migraine, and posttraumatic, are robustly associated with both attempted and completed suicide, results of a large study suggest. 

The risk for suicide attempt was four times higher in people with trigeminal and autonomic cephalalgias (TAC), and the risk for completed suicide was double among those with posttraumatic headache compared with individuals with no headache.

The retrospective analysis included data on more than 100,000 headache patients from a Danish registry. 

“The results suggest there’s a unique risk among headache patients for attempted and completed suicide,” lead investigator Holly Elser, MD, MPH, PhD, resident, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, said at the 2024 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, where the findings were presented. “This really underscores the potential importance of complementary psychiatric evaluation and treatment for individuals diagnosed with headache.”
 

Underestimated Problem

Headache disorders affect about half of working-age adults and are among the leading causes of productivity loss, absence from work, and disability. 

Prior research suggests headache disorders often co-occur with psychiatric illness including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and even attempted suicide.

However, previous studies that showed an increased risk for attempted suicide in patients with headache relied heavily on survey data and mostly focused on patients with migraine. There was little information on other headache types and on the risk for completed suicide.

Researchers used Danish registries to identify 64,057 patients with migraine, 40,160 with tension-type headache (TTH), 5743 with TAC, and 4253 with posttraumatic headache, all diagnosed from 1995 to 2019.

Some 5.8% of those with migraine, 6.3% with TAC, 7.2% with TTH, and 7.2% with posttraumatic headache, had a mood disorder (depression and anxiety combined) at baseline.

Those without a headache diagnosis were matched 5:1 to those with a headache diagnosis by sex and birth year.

Across all headache disorders, baseline prevalence of mood disorder was higher among those with headache versus population-matched controls. Dr. Elser emphasized that these are people diagnosed with a mood disorder in the inpatient, emergency department, or outpatient specialist clinic setting, “which means we are almost certainly underestimating the true burden of mood symptoms in our cohort,” she said.

Researchers identified attempted suicides using diagnostic codes. For completed suicide, they determined whether those who attempted suicide died within 30 days of the attempt.

For each headache type, investigators examined both the absolute and relative risk for attempted and completed suicides and estimated the risk at intervals of 5, 10, and 20 years after initial headache diagnosis.
 

Robust Link

The “power of this study is that we asked a simple, but important question, and answered it with simple, but appropriate, methodologic techniques,” Dr. Elser said.

The estimated risk differences (RDs) for attempted suicide were strongest for TAC and posttraumatic headache and for longer follow-ups. The RDs for completed suicide were largely the same but of a smaller magnitude and were “relatively less precise,” reflecting the “rarity of this outcome,” said Dr. Elser.

After adjusting for sex, age, education, income, comorbidities, and baseline medical and psychiatric diagnoses, researchers found the strongest association or attempted suicide was among those with TAC (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 4.25; 95% CI, 2.85-6.33).

“A hazard ratio of 4 is enormous” for this type of comparison, Dr. Elser noted.

For completed suicide, the strongest association was with posttraumatic headache (aHR, 2.19; 95% CI, 0.78-6.16).

The study revealed a robust association with attempted and completed suicide across all headache types, including TTH, noted Dr. Elser. The link between tension headaches and suicide “was the most striking finding to me because I think of that as sort of a benign and common headache disorder,” she said.

The was an observational study, so “it’s not clear whether headache is playing an etiological role in the relationship with suicide,” she said. “It’s possible there are common shared risk factors or confounders that explain the relationship in full or in part that aren’t accounted for in this study.”
 

Ask About Mood

The results underscore the need for psychiatric evaluations in patients with a headache disorder. “For me, this is just going to make me that much more likely to ask my patients about their mood when I see them in clinic,” Dr. Elser said.

After asking patients with headache about their mood and stress at home and at work, physicians should have a “low threshold to refer to a behavioral health provider,” she added.

Future research should aim to better understand the link between headache and suicide risk, with a focus on the mechanisms behind low- and high-risk subgroups, said Dr. Elser.

A limitation of the study was that headache diagnoses were based on inpatient, emergency department, and outpatient specialist visits but not on visits to primary care practitioners. The study didn’t include information on headache severity or frequency and included only people who sought treatment for their headaches.

Though it’s unlikely the results “are perfectly generalizable” with respect to other geographical or cultural contexts, “I don’t think this relationship is unique to Denmark based on the literature to date,” Dr. Elser said.

Commenting on the study, session co-chair Todd J. Schwedt, MD, professor of neurology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, and president-elect of the American Headache Society, noted that the study offers important findings “that demonstrate the enormous negative impact that headaches can exert.”

It’s “a strong reminder” that clinicians should assess the mental health of their patients with headaches and offer treatment when appropriate, he said.

The study received support from Aarhus University. No relevant conflicts of interest were reported.
 

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

DENVER – Headaches, including tension-type, migraine, and posttraumatic, are robustly associated with both attempted and completed suicide, results of a large study suggest. 

The risk for suicide attempt was four times higher in people with trigeminal and autonomic cephalalgias (TAC), and the risk for completed suicide was double among those with posttraumatic headache compared with individuals with no headache.

The retrospective analysis included data on more than 100,000 headache patients from a Danish registry. 

“The results suggest there’s a unique risk among headache patients for attempted and completed suicide,” lead investigator Holly Elser, MD, MPH, PhD, resident, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, said at the 2024 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, where the findings were presented. “This really underscores the potential importance of complementary psychiatric evaluation and treatment for individuals diagnosed with headache.”
 

Underestimated Problem

Headache disorders affect about half of working-age adults and are among the leading causes of productivity loss, absence from work, and disability. 

Prior research suggests headache disorders often co-occur with psychiatric illness including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and even attempted suicide.

However, previous studies that showed an increased risk for attempted suicide in patients with headache relied heavily on survey data and mostly focused on patients with migraine. There was little information on other headache types and on the risk for completed suicide.

Researchers used Danish registries to identify 64,057 patients with migraine, 40,160 with tension-type headache (TTH), 5743 with TAC, and 4253 with posttraumatic headache, all diagnosed from 1995 to 2019.

Some 5.8% of those with migraine, 6.3% with TAC, 7.2% with TTH, and 7.2% with posttraumatic headache, had a mood disorder (depression and anxiety combined) at baseline.

Those without a headache diagnosis were matched 5:1 to those with a headache diagnosis by sex and birth year.

Across all headache disorders, baseline prevalence of mood disorder was higher among those with headache versus population-matched controls. Dr. Elser emphasized that these are people diagnosed with a mood disorder in the inpatient, emergency department, or outpatient specialist clinic setting, “which means we are almost certainly underestimating the true burden of mood symptoms in our cohort,” she said.

Researchers identified attempted suicides using diagnostic codes. For completed suicide, they determined whether those who attempted suicide died within 30 days of the attempt.

For each headache type, investigators examined both the absolute and relative risk for attempted and completed suicides and estimated the risk at intervals of 5, 10, and 20 years after initial headache diagnosis.
 

Robust Link

The “power of this study is that we asked a simple, but important question, and answered it with simple, but appropriate, methodologic techniques,” Dr. Elser said.

The estimated risk differences (RDs) for attempted suicide were strongest for TAC and posttraumatic headache and for longer follow-ups. The RDs for completed suicide were largely the same but of a smaller magnitude and were “relatively less precise,” reflecting the “rarity of this outcome,” said Dr. Elser.

After adjusting for sex, age, education, income, comorbidities, and baseline medical and psychiatric diagnoses, researchers found the strongest association or attempted suicide was among those with TAC (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 4.25; 95% CI, 2.85-6.33).

“A hazard ratio of 4 is enormous” for this type of comparison, Dr. Elser noted.

For completed suicide, the strongest association was with posttraumatic headache (aHR, 2.19; 95% CI, 0.78-6.16).

The study revealed a robust association with attempted and completed suicide across all headache types, including TTH, noted Dr. Elser. The link between tension headaches and suicide “was the most striking finding to me because I think of that as sort of a benign and common headache disorder,” she said.

The was an observational study, so “it’s not clear whether headache is playing an etiological role in the relationship with suicide,” she said. “It’s possible there are common shared risk factors or confounders that explain the relationship in full or in part that aren’t accounted for in this study.”
 

Ask About Mood

The results underscore the need for psychiatric evaluations in patients with a headache disorder. “For me, this is just going to make me that much more likely to ask my patients about their mood when I see them in clinic,” Dr. Elser said.

After asking patients with headache about their mood and stress at home and at work, physicians should have a “low threshold to refer to a behavioral health provider,” she added.

Future research should aim to better understand the link between headache and suicide risk, with a focus on the mechanisms behind low- and high-risk subgroups, said Dr. Elser.

A limitation of the study was that headache diagnoses were based on inpatient, emergency department, and outpatient specialist visits but not on visits to primary care practitioners. The study didn’t include information on headache severity or frequency and included only people who sought treatment for their headaches.

Though it’s unlikely the results “are perfectly generalizable” with respect to other geographical or cultural contexts, “I don’t think this relationship is unique to Denmark based on the literature to date,” Dr. Elser said.

Commenting on the study, session co-chair Todd J. Schwedt, MD, professor of neurology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, and president-elect of the American Headache Society, noted that the study offers important findings “that demonstrate the enormous negative impact that headaches can exert.”

It’s “a strong reminder” that clinicians should assess the mental health of their patients with headaches and offer treatment when appropriate, he said.

The study received support from Aarhus University. No relevant conflicts of interest were reported.
 

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.