Etanercept shows promise in ankylosing spondylitis

According to a report in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, etanercept may reduce the clinical signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis. The authors call for further research to determine its therapeutic role.The pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha appears to play a key role in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis, writes Dr Calin and colleagues from the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (Bath, UK).In order to evaluate the safety and efficacy of etanercept to treat adult patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), 84 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to 25mg injections of etanercept (n=45) or placebo (n-39) twice weekly for 12 weeks. The primary efficacy end point was an improvement of at least 20% in patient reported symptoms, based on the multi-component Assessments in Ankylosing Spondylitis (ASAS) response criteria (ASAS 20).By the end of week 12 significantly more etanercept patients (60%) than placebo patients (23%) were ASAS 20 responders, the authors report. Significant improvements emerged as early as week two among the etanercept patients. The team also identify that significantly more etanercept patients showed improvement at the ASAS 50 and ASAS 70 level with nearly half improving 50% or more and one quarter improving 70% or more by week 12.The drug was reported to be well tolerated with most events defined as mild to moderate; the only between-group difference reported was injection site reactions, which occurred significantly more often in etanercept patients."Etanercept produced a rapid and sustained reduction of the clinical signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis," the authors report. "Given these results, further investigation of longer term treatment with etanercept is warranted to further define its therapeutic utility."Reference...