Maintenance of improvement in spinal mobility, physical function and quality of life in patients with ankylosing spondylitis after 5 years in a clinical trial of adalimumab.

Objective: Chronic pain and progressive loss of physical function with AS may adversely affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The objective of this study was to assess the 5-year data regarding spinal mobility, physical function and HRQoL in patients with AS who participated in the Adalimumab Trial Evaluating Long-term Efficacy and Safety for AS (ATLAS) study.

Methods: Patients received blinded adalimumab 40 mg or placebo every other week for 24 weeks, then open-label adalimumab for up to 5 years.

Examining the relationship between bone mineral density and fracture risk reduction during pharmacologic treatment of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder characterized by compromised bone strength that predisposes the patient to an increased risk for fracture. Elements of bone strength include bone mineralization, architecture, turnover, size, and bone mineral density (BMD). Measurement of BMD is the most readily available, noninvasive method for assessing osteoporotic fracture risk and is used by the World Health Organization for diagnostic purposes.

The safety of anakinra in high-risk patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: six-month observations of patients with comorbid conditions.

Objective: To determine in a placebo-controlled, double-blind trial the safety profile of daily anakinra (Kineret) use in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and concurrent comorbid conditions.

Methods: In 169 centers in 9 countries, 1,414 patients with active RA were randomly assigned to receive either anakinra (100 mg) or placebo treatment (4:1 anakinra-to-placebo allocation ratio), with study drug administered by daily subcutaneous injection for 6 months. The current post hoc analysis assessed baseline comorbid conditions, and patients were considered at high risk for the occurrence of adverse events if they had a history of at least one of the following: cardiovascular event, pulmonary event, central nervous system-related event, infection, diabetes, malignancy, or renal impairment.