medwireNews: Data from the SPIRIT-P1 trial indicate that patients with biologic-naïve psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who receive the interleukin (IL)-17A inhibitor ixekizumab report improved outcomes for up to a year.
The 417 study participants received either ixekizumab at a dose of 80 mg every 2 or 4 weeks, adalimumab, or placebo for 24 weeks, after which the adalimumab- and placebo-treated patients were randomly allocated to one of ixekizumab doses, with all patients receiving treatment through 52 weeks.
Ixekizumab was associated with significant improvements in skin symptoms and health-related quality of life – as measured by the Itch Numeric Rating Scale and the Dermatology Life Quality Index and the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions Visual Analogue Scale, respectively – relative to placebo at week 24.
Significant improvements were also seen at this timepoint in some domains of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey version 2 and in three of the four domains of the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire-Specific Health Problem.
Ixekizumab-treated patients continued to report favorable outcomes in these measures until week 52, say Alice Gottlieb (New York Medical College, USA) and co-investigators in Rheumatology.
Noting that these results complement the beneficial effects of ixekizumab on joint pain and physical function, they conclude that “[t]his further confirms the utility of targeting IL-17A in the treatment of both joint and skin diseases in patients with PsA.”
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