Battling Arthritis

Developed by Düsseldorf orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Peter Wehling and molecular biologist Dr. Julio Reinecke - the orthokine therapy is a treatment by which anti-inflammatory proteins from the patient’s own blood are the ones injected into the arthritic joint.

It is based on an understanding of the biological mechanisms that lead to of osteoarthritis and pain. In osteoarthritis, the body produces interleukin-1 (IL-1), a protein that contributes to the breakdown of cartilage.

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Roche is happy to announce that its rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra (tocilizumab) has won the recommending approval of the US FDA’s Arthritis Advisory Committee.

The committee’s vote was made after Roche presented results from five Phase III clinical trials. The clinical development program evaluated the effects of Actemra on signs and symptoms of RA, physical function, progression of structural damage, and health-related quality of life.

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The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) decision on arthritis drug will prevent tens of thousands of arthritis sufferers to switch to powerful drugs.

In a separate post I already mentioned UK Nice’s ruling that do not allow switching of arthritis drug to more powerful ones, once the patient do not respond in one in the premise that it isn’t cost effective. Now the final draft on that ruling (before definitive guidance is issued) has been issued by Nice already.

Charity groups and arthritis patients alike are going berserk of course, simply because this ruling will prevent access of arthritis patients to hopefully better drugs to manage their arthritis.

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As reported by Wyeth - maker of the rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel - the combination of the drug Enbrel and methotrexate help improve to remission of rheumatoid arthritis.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (a division of Wyeth) and Amgen today announced the publication of data from the COMET (COmbination of Methotrexate and ETanercept in Active Early Rheumatoid Arthritis) trial demonstrating that half of patients treated with the combination of ENBREL and methotrexate achieved Disease Activity Score (DAS) clinical remission and nearly all had no progression of joint damage.

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Orencia (abatacept) - a product of Bristol-Myers Squibb -  is in the news today.

ORENCIA® (abatacept) is a prescription medicine that can reduce signs and symptoms in adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) — including those who have not been helped enough by other medicines for RA. ORENCIA can further damage the bones and joints which can also reduce signs and symptoms in children and adolescents 6 years of age and older with moderate to severe polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

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Gout is a form of arthrtitis. It is called metabolic arthritis and is caused by the build-up of uric acid in the body.

Gout is condition that results from crystals of uric acid depositing in tissues of the body. Gout is characterized by an overload of uric acid in the body and recurring attacks of joint inflammation (arthritis). Chronic gout can lead to deposits of hard lumps of uric acid in and around the joints, decreased kidney function, and kidney stones.

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There’s an interesting report about the survey on arthritis patients in Canada. According to the new survey, most arthritis patients in Canada do not take their arthritis medications even though they are in pain and know that their medications work.

It is quite insightful because the reasons why they don’t take medication is I guess the concern of any other arthritis patient in the world.

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In lieu of the recent EULAR 2008 (the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Paris, France), updates are abound regarding the developments of arthritis drugs, either of those already existing in the market but most especially of those that are still under clinical trials.

1. CEL-SCI Announces Discovery of Novel Compound for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis More →

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According to results of research presented today at EULAR 2008 (the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Paris, France), adalimumab therapy is effective and well-tolerated in ankylosing spondylitis (AS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients with a previously inadequate response to anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies etanercept and infliximab.

This positive response to adalimumab was greatest for patients who had been intolerant of their anti-TNF therapies, or had lost their initial responses, compared with those who had had no response to prior anti-TNF therapies at all.

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Methotrexate (MTX) is a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) commonly prescribed to RA (rheumatoid arthritis patients).

Now, according to Australian researchers, increased risk of melanoma (including other malignancies) have in found in RA patients receiving MTX for treatment.

RA patients exposed to MTX were found to have an estimated 50 percent excess risk of developing cancer in any form. The risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was more than 5 times higher in RA patients than in the general population. RA patients also had a 3-fold increased risk of melanoma and almost a 3-fold increased risk of lung cancer.

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