Study: Enbrel® Inhibits Bone and Joint Damage in Psoriatic Arthritis Patients

The arthritis drug Enbrel® (etanercept) significantly inhibits bone and joint damage in patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis, according to research presented at the 66th American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans.

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the joints and connective tissue that can lead to crippling debilitation with inflamed and irritated scaly red patches of skin on the body.

"Enbrel is the first therapy to reduce signs and symptoms, and inhibit the progression of bone erosions and joint space narrowing associated with psoriatic arthritis, a disease which has unique and distinct radiographic features not seen in rheumatoid arthritis," said Dr. Peter Ory, department of radiology, University of Washington, and lead investigator of the study.

"Patients with psoriatic arthritis often exhibit the painful bone and joint destruction and eventual deformities to fingers, hands and wrists which are associated with disability in this disease," Ory said.

Researchers evaluated 205 patients with active psoriatic arthritis who also had stable psoriasis. For the first six months of the study, one group of patients was given Enbrel and the other group was given a placebo.

The patients were then eligible to enter a 48-week "open label" study taking only Enbrel to determine disease progression in patients treated with the drug versus those who had taken the placebo. X-rays of the patients' hands and wrists were taken at the start of the study, at 6 months, at the rollover to the Enbrel-only portion of the study and at 12 months.

At one year, there was inhibition of disease progression in the group who took Enbrel compared with the group taking the placebo. The progression of structural damage was inhibited when measured by several different methods.

Adverse side effects were similar to those reported in previous clinical trials of Enbrel in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. There was no increase in the number of serious adverse side effects occurring in patients treated with Enbrel compared to those receiving a placebo. Only the rate of injection site reactions in patients receiving Enbrel was statistically different when compared to the placebo.

Other sources: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals