Abatacept in the long-term treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. (March 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jani, Meghna; Hyrich, Kimme L
• Is Part Of: Expert review of clinical immunology. Volume 8:Number 3(2012)
• Page Start: 231
• Page End: 234
• Publication Date: 2012-03
• Subjects: abatacept -- biologics -- CTLA-4 -- efficacy -- rheumatoid arthritis -- T-cell activation; Clinical immunology -- Periodicals; 616.079
• DOI: 10.1586/eci.11.98
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-666X

Abstract

Evaluation of: Kremer JM, Russell AS, Emery P et al. Long-term safety, efficacy and inhibition of radiographic progression with abatacept treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to methotrexate: 3-year results from the AIM trial. Ann. Rheum. Dis . 70(10), 1826–1830 (2011). The last decade has been an era of exciting and innovative therapeutic targets in the treatment of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis. One such treatment that acts by disrupting T-cell activation is abatacept, which is currently used in patients who have had an inadequate clinical response to traditional disease-modifying drugs or anti-TNF therapies. As newer therapies emerge, issues that need addressing include: long-term drug tolerance, adverse events, sustained clinical response, prevention of progression in structural damage and retention rates. In this article we discuss a recently published paper by Kremer et al. that reported 3-year data on safety, efficacy and radiographic progression in patients enrolled in a clinical trial of abatacept, as well as the advantages and limitations of long-term extension studies.