ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

Abstract Number: 2479

Adalimumab Significantly Reduces Inflammation In Active Ankylosing Spondylitis: An Ultrasound Study

Zaiying Hu1, Manlong Xu2, Zetao Liao3, Zhiming Lin4 and Jieruo Gu5, 1Rheumatology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, 2THIRD AFFILIATED HOSPITAL OF SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSIT, Guangzho, China, 3Rheumatology, The Affiliated Third Hospital of Sun Yat-san University, Rheumatology, Guangzhou, China, 4Rheumatology, third affiliated hospital of Sun Yat-sen Universtiy, Guangzhou, China, 5Medicine, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, GuangZhou, China

Meeting: 2013 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Keywords: , ,

Session Information

Title: Spondylarthropathies and Psoriatic Arthritis: Clinical Aspects and Treatment III

Session Type: Abstract Submissions (ACR)

Background/Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of using power Doppler ultrasound (PDUS) to detect inflammation in sacroiliac joints and entheses after adalimumab (a TNF-alpha antagonist) treatment in active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients.

Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Active AS patients received 40 mg adalimumab (n = 21) or placebo (n = 20) every other week during an initial 12-week double-blind period, and all switched to adalimumab treatment for another 12 weeks. Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Function Index (BASFI), C-reactive protein (CRP), Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Scores (ASDAS) were measured and inflammation in sacroiliac joints and entheses were detected by PDUS at baseline, week 12 and week 24. The regions of enthesitis we detected including sternoclavicular joint, thoracic rib joints, lumbar spinous process, anterior superior iliac spine, posterior superior iliac spine, patellar tendon, and achilles tendon. The color flow signals of PDUS were scored on a 0-4 semi-quantitative scale.

Results: The total PDUS scores of active AS patients decreased significantly after 24 weeks treatment of adalimumab (4.95 ± 4.07 vs. 3.33 ± 3.12, p=0.033). And obvious improvements in clinical assessments (BASDAI, BASFI, CRP and ASDAS reduced, all P < 0.05) were also observed after 24 weeks of adalimumab. But the total PDUS scores of AS patients did not change statistically after 12 weeks treatment of adalimumab (4.67 ± 4.10 vs. 4.27 ± 3.20, p=0.416) or placebo (4.75 ± 3.63 vs. 4.35 ± 4.22, p>0.05). And the total PDUS score did not correlate with clinical assessments (all p=0.494).

Conclusion: Our study found that adalimumab was highly effective in reducing inflammation in active AS patients as detected by power Doppler ultrasound.

Disclosure:

Z. Hu,
None;

M. Xu,
None;

Z. Liao,
None;

Z. Lin,
None;

J. Gu,
None.

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