Psoriatic arthritis patients in new treatment trial
More than 100 people from Leeds with newly diagnosed psoriatic arthritis are to take part in a new clinical trial to find out if being treated early with aggressive drug therapy is more effective than the current standard treatment.
Psoriatic arthritis is an inflammatory type of arthritis that often also affects the skin (psoriasis). Although it is the second most common form of inflammatory arthritis, after rheumatoid arthritis, research into the condition has lagged behind.
The results of the new research study will enable doctors to establish the best treatment for patients with psoriatic arthritis around the UK.
Dr Laura Coates, a research fellow at the University of Leeds’ academic unit of musculoskeletal disease at Chapel Allerton Hospital in Leeds, has been awarded a two-year clinical research fellowship of £134,620 by medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign, to lead the new study.
118 people from the Leeds area in the early stages of the condition will have their joint images taken using MRI and ultrasound to examine the link between inflammation and damage. They will then be randomised onto one of two treatment regimes; either given standard treatments and reviewed every three months by a rheumatologist in an outpatient clinic; or reviewed monthly in a specialist clinic and treated with rapidly increasing doses of drugs. They will then be switched to the new highly effective biologic therapies if they fail to respond. After 12 months more scans will be taken and the levels of inflammation and joint damage compared.
“Establishing the link between inflammation and damage in RA has encouraged rheumatologists to diagnose and treat people early, and to use drugs to minimise inflammation and prevent joint damage,” said Dr Coates. “Studies on RA patients showed that intensive treatment led to less disease activity, less joint damage and better quality of life.
“Treating people with psoriatic arthritis with more intensive therapies to ensure that the level of inflammation is minimised could similarly reduce the joint damage and prevent disability.”
