A promising treatment to prevent disease

Painful stiffness, joint swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite… these symptoms may indicate rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease. So far, there is no cure or preventive treatment for this pathology. An active ingredient called “abatacept” is used as a second- or third-line treatment for people with proven arthritis to suppress flares, reduce inflammation, and control joint destruction. The latter is administered by infusion at home or by weekly injections in the hospital.

110 people received abatacept for one year

In a recent study, researchers from King’s College London (England) wanted to know if this active ingredient could prevent disease progression in at-risk adults. “People with serum antibodies to citrullinated protein antigens, gout factor, and symptoms, such as inflammatory joint pain, are at increased risk of developing gout.”

They remembered.

For the purposes of their work, published in the journal The Lancet, the team recruited 213 patients with high-risk rheumatoid arthritis between December 22, 2014, and January 14, 2019. Participants had initial symptoms, such as joint pain but no joint swelling. As part of the intervention, 110 volunteers received abatacept and 103 adults received a placebo for one year. After treatment, the scientists followed them for an additional 12 months.

Rheumatoid arthritis: Only 6% of treated adults developed the disease

According to the results, 6% of people treated with abatacept developed arthritis, compared to 29% in the placebo group. After 24 months, the differences were still significant, with a total of 25% of participants in the group receiving the active ingredient progressing to this chronic inflammatory disease, compared to 37% in the placebo group.

The authors found that abatacept was associated with improvements in pain scores, functional well-being, and quality of life, as well as reductions in joint wall inflammation scores detectable by ultrasound. “However, the effects were not maintained beyond 24 months. Seven serious adverse events occurred in those receiving abatacept,” Can we read in the research.

“This is the largest rheumatoid arthritis prevention trial to date and shows that therapies approved to treat established rheumatoid arthritis are also effective in preventing the onset of the disease in people at risk. This is promising news for (…) NHS, because The disease affects people as they age and its treatment will become increasingly expensive as the population ages.

Lead study author Professor Andrew Cope concluded.