Keep up-to-date on the latestrheumatoid arthritis (RA)research with our brief research summaries.

Tofacitinib Plus Methotrexate May Work As Well As Biologic

If methotrexate (MTX) alone fails to control RA, adding the oral Janus kinase (JAX) inhibitor tofacitinib (Xeljanz) may be as effective as the standard practice of adding a biologic. The JAX inhibitor belongs to the third category ofdisease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)called targeted DMARDs. In a study of 1,146 patients with rheumatoid arthritis that had not adequately responded to MTX alone, approximately a third were switched to tofacitinib, while the others received either tofacitinib or thebiologicadalimumab (Humira) along with methotrexate. At 6 months, only 38% of the patients receiving tofacitinib monotherapy achieved ACR50 – 50 percent improvement – while 46% of patients that received tofacitinib and MTX achieved that response. Forty-four percent of patients who combined adalimubab with MTX achieved the similar improved response of the tofacitnib and MTX group.

SOURCE:The Lancet, July 2017Continue readingRA Research Briefs: Tofacitinib, Fish, Remission→