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Data Presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting Are Welcome and Exciting News for Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis and Psoriatic Arthritis
There is currently no cure for ankylosing spondylitis. Current medical treatments for spondyloarthropathy are all aimed at reducing overall inflammation, and include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) including both traditional medications and newer biologics.
Psoriatic arthritis is also a spondyloarthropathy and is associated with the skin condition psoriasis, which is caused by immune system problems that result in increased cell growth. In the United States, approximately three percent of the population, or more than five million adults, have psoriasis. For people with psoriatic arthritis, quality of life is impacted by both the physical symptoms of the disease and the emotional burden of disfiguring skin symptoms.
Continued research has pointed the way to new methods of fine-tuning the immune response and controlling inflammation that may someday offer better relief with fewer side effects. One study seen at ACR was of an investigational treatment that may be the first small molecule to show an effect in both psoriatic arthritis as well as the axial and peripheral components of ankylosing spondylitis.
"Exciting advancements in research are going on in spondyloarthropathies. Apremilast – is a novel oral therapy that could potentially offer a new disease-modifying treatment option for people who are affected by this debilitating condition," said Dr. Peter Taylor, Professor of Musculoskeletal Sciences, Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist and Head of Clinical Trials, Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, UK. "I am delighted to be working with the Spondylitis Association of America in order to educate people about this disease and show them the hope that potential new treatments may provide."
Spondyloarthropathies (sometimes called spondyloarthritis) are a group of interrelated chronic diseases that cause inflammation in the spine (spondylo) and other joints, as well as at the points where ligaments and tendons attach to the bone. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a crippling form of arthritis falling under this category that generally strikes young people in their teens and twenties, sometimes even earlier. Left untreated, it causes pain, disability and can eventually cause the spinal vertebrae to fuse together forming one brittle bone, often in a stooped over position. The most common symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis are pain and stiffness.
Source: prnewswire.com
There is currently no cure for ankylosing spondylitis. Current medical treatments for spondyloarthropathy are all aimed at reducing overall inflammation, and include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) including both traditional medications and newer biologics.
Psoriatic arthritis is also a spondyloarthropathy and is associated with the skin condition psoriasis, which is caused by immune system problems that result in increased cell growth. In the United States, approximately three percent of the population, or more than five million adults, have psoriasis. For people with psoriatic arthritis, quality of life is impacted by both the physical symptoms of the disease and the emotional burden of disfiguring skin symptoms.
Continued research has pointed the way to new methods of fine-tuning the immune response and controlling inflammation that may someday offer better relief with fewer side effects. One study seen at ACR was of an investigational treatment that may be the first small molecule to show an effect in both psoriatic arthritis as well as the axial and peripheral components of ankylosing spondylitis.
"Exciting advancements in research are going on in spondyloarthropathies. Apremilast – is a novel oral therapy that could potentially offer a new disease-modifying treatment option for people who are affected by this debilitating condition," said Dr. Peter Taylor, Professor of Musculoskeletal Sciences, Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist and Head of Clinical Trials, Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, UK. "I am delighted to be working with the Spondylitis Association of America in order to educate people about this disease and show them the hope that potential new treatments may provide."
Spondyloarthropathies (sometimes called spondyloarthritis) are a group of interrelated chronic diseases that cause inflammation in the spine (spondylo) and other joints, as well as at the points where ligaments and tendons attach to the bone. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a crippling form of arthritis falling under this category that generally strikes young people in their teens and twenties, sometimes even earlier. Left untreated, it causes pain, disability and can eventually cause the spinal vertebrae to fuse together forming one brittle bone, often in a stooped over position. The most common symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis are pain and stiffness.
Source: prnewswire.com