Adalimumab Reduces Hand Bone Loss in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Author Information
Author(s): Mari Hoff, Tore K. Kvien, Johan Kälvesten, Aake Elden, Arthur Kavanaugh, Glenn Haugeberg
Primary Institution: Department of Rheumatology, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
Hypothesis
Can treatment with the TNF-α inhibitor adalimumab reduce periarticular bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis patients independent of disease activity?
Conclusion
Adalimumab in combination with methotrexate reduces periarticular bone loss independently of clinical response.
Supporting Evidence
- Patients treated with methotrexate alone showed greater bone loss with higher disease activity.
- In the combination group, bone loss was independent of disease activity levels.
- Adalimumab treatment resulted in less bone loss compared to methotrexate alone.
Takeaway
This study found that a medicine called adalimumab helps protect bones in people with arthritis, even if their arthritis symptoms don't get better.
Methodology
The study analyzed data from the PREMIER study, comparing bone loss in patients treated with adalimumab plus methotrexate versus methotrexate alone.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the retrospective nature of the study and the inability to control for all variables.
Limitations
The study is retrospective and had issues with analyzing some radiographs due to unknown image resolution.
Participant Demographics
The study included 214 patients treated with adalimumab plus methotrexate and 188 patients treated with methotrexate alone, with a mean age of around 52 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.01
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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