European Congress of Rheumatology 2022 (EULAR 2022)

In patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) with insufficient response to conventional synthetic (cs) or biologic (b) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), the JAK*1/2 selective inhibitor baricitinib reduced the frequency and delayed time to disease flares, according to a phase III trial presented at EULAR 2022.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with no prior exposure to biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) experience improvements in their condition when treated with bimekizumab, according to results of the phase III BE OPTIMAL trial.

Treatment with bimekizumab, a monoclonal IgG1 antibody that selectively inhibits interleukin (IL)-17F and IL-17A, significantly improved ASAS40* response rate in patients with either nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) or ankylosing spondylitis (AS**), according to two phase III studies presented at EULAR 2022.

The use of antihistamines was associated with reduced structural progression in knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to a post hoc analysis of two large phase III trials.

Short-term tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibition with adalimumab falls short of producing improvements in patients with radiographic knee osteoarthritis, according to the proof-of-concept OKINADA trial presented at this year’s European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) Congress.

Pregnancies in women with rheumatic and systemic autoimmune diseases—including systemic lupus erythematosus, spondyloarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis—pose significant health risks and are likely to lead to unfavourable outcomes, according to several studies presented at this year’s European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) Congress.

Contrary to what current guidelines advocate, long-term use of corticosteroid works fine in older patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), suggests the much-anticipated GLORIA* trial presented at EULAR 2022.