26 research outputs found
Abatacept treatment improves health-related quality of life, pain, and sleep quality in juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients
Infections requiring hospitalization in the abatacept clinical development program: an epidemiological assessment
Clinical efficacy and safety of abatacept in methotrexate-naive patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and poor prognostic factors
Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of abatacept in methotrexate-naive patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and poor prognostic factors.
Methods: In this double-blind, phase IIIb study, patients with RA for 2 years or less were randomly assigned 1 : 1 to receive abatacept (similar to 10 mg/kg) plus methotrexate, or placebo plus methotrexate. Patients were methotrexate-naive and seropositive for rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-cyclic citrullinated protein (CCP) type 2 or both and had radiographic evidence of joint erosions. The co-primary endpoints were the proportion of patients achieving disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28)-defined remission (C-reactive protein) and joint damage progression (Genant-modified Sharp total score; TS) at year 1. Safety was monitored throughout.
Results: At baseline, patients had a mean DAS28 of 6.3, a mean TS of 7.1 and mean disease duration of 6.5 months; 96.5% and 89.0% of patients were RF or anti-CCP2 seropositive, respectively. At year 1, a significantly greater proportion of abatacept plus methotrexate-treated patients achieved remission (41.4% vs 23.3%; p<0.001) and there was significantly less radiographic progression (mean change in TS 0.63 vs 1.06; p = 0.040) versus methotrexate alone. Over 1 year, the frequency of adverse events (84.8% vs 83.4%), serious adverse events (7.8% vs 7.9%), serious infections (2.0% vs 2.0%), autoimmune disorders (2.3% vs 2.0%) and malignancies (0.4% vs 0%) was comparable for abatacept plus methotrexate versus methotrexate alone.
Conclusions: In a methotrexate-naive population with early RA and poor prognostic factors, the combination of abatacept and methotrexate provided significantly better clinical and radiographic efficacy compared with methotrexate alone and had a comparable, favourable safety profile
Reduction in missed school days and improvement in parent activity participation in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis treated with abatacept
Rheumatoid arthritis - treatment: 180. Utility of Body Weight Classified Low-Dose Leflunomide in Japanese Rheumatoid Arthritis
Background: In Japan, more than 20 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients died of interstitial pneumonia (IP) caused by leflunomide (LEF) were reported, but many of them were considered as the victims of opportunistic infection currently. In this paper, efficacy and safety of low-dose LEF classified by body weight (BW) were studied. Methods: Fifty-nine RA patients were started to administrate LEF from July 2007 to July 2009. Among them, 25 patients were excluded because of the combination with tacrolimus, and medication modification within 3 months before LEF. Remaining 34 RA patients administered 20 to 50âmg/week of LEF were followed up for 1 year and enrolled in this study. Dose of LEF was classified by BW (50âmg/week for over 50âkg, 40âmg/week for 40 to 50âkg and 20 to 30âmg/week for under 40âkg). The average age and RA duration of enrolled patients were 55.5 years old and 10.2 years. Prednisolone (PSL), methotrexate (MTX) and etanercept were used in 23, 28 and 2 patients, respectively. In case of insufficient response or adverse effect, dosage change or discontinuance of LEF were considered. Failure was defined as dosages up of PSL and MTX, or dosages down or discontinuance of LEF. Last observation carried forward method was used for the evaluation of failed patients at 1 year. Results: At 1 year after LEF start, good/ moderate/ no response assessed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria using Disease Activity Score, including a 28-joint count (DAS28)-C reactive protein (CRP) were showed in 14/ 10/ 10 patients, respectively. The dosage changes of LEF at 1 year were dosage up: 10, same dosage: 5, dosage down: 8 and discontinuance: 11 patients. The survival rate of patients in this study was 23.5% (24 patients failed) but actual LEF continuous rate was 67.6% (11 patients discontinued) at 1 year. The major reason of failure was liver dysfunction, and pneumocystis pneumonia was occurred in 1 patient resulted in full recovery. One patient died of sepsis caused by decubitus ulcer infection. DAS28-CRP score was decreased from 3.9 to 2.7 significantly. Although CRP was decreased from 1.50 to 0.93âmg/dl, it wasn't significant. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 was decreased from 220.0 to 174.2âng/ml significantly. Glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) was increased from 19 to 35 U/l and number of leukocyte was decreased from 7832 to 6271 significantly. DAS28-CRP, CRP, and MMP-3 were improved significantly with MTX, although they weren't without MTX. Increase of GPT and leukopenia were seen significantly with MTX, although they weren't without MTX. Conclusions: It was reported that the risks of IP caused by LEF in Japanese RA patients were past IP history, loading dose administration and low BW. Addition of low-dose LEF is a potent safe alternative for the patients showing unsatisfactory response to current medicines, but need to pay attention for liver function and infection caused by leukopenia, especially with MTX. Disclosure statement: The authors have declared no conflicts of interes
Redefining brand hijacking from a non-collaborative brand co-creation perspective
Purpose
In the democratic digital environment, brand managers frequently deal with the unauthorized use of the brand by third parties. The phenomenon, known as brand hijacking, has been treated in different and sometimes conflicting ways in the academic and professional literature. The aim of this paper is to clarify the meaning of brand hijacking and to shed light on the various motivations and intentions underpinning the phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
A Delphi-based survey among both academic and professional experts was conducted to explore the key features of brand hijacking and expand existing theories.
Findings
The results of the Delphi survey enable the main brand hijacking actions to be mapped, based on two motivational axes (utilitarianâidealistic and destructiveâconstructive) and on the various intentions that guide the hijackers. The results help re-define the key elements of brand hijacking, through the lens of non-collaborative brand co-creation.
Practical implications
Managerial implications are presented in terms of the corporate response to the two main effects of hijacking, namely, brand reputational damage and brand repositioning.
Originality/value
The paper helps to shed light on the main components of brand hijacking, thus gaining expert consensus in refining the existent conceptualization in relation to a rapidly changing brand management scenario because of the gradual loss by brand managers of their traditional control
CSR communication in Asian context. An empirical analysis through the lens of the National Business Systems
The study aims at exploring whether organizationsâ specific orientation, explicitness and use of symbolic practices in CSR communication reflects the characteristics of countries to which they belong.
In light of the variety of NBS that characterize the Asian continent, the paper proposes a quali-quantitative research focused on content analysis of corporate websites of companies in China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Hong Kong, in order to detect differences in terms of the three main dimensions of CSR communication, namely penetration, explicitness and symbolism.
Data results of empirical analysis show that Japan obtains a high score of CSR penetration, while other nations demonstrate lower levels. Japan companies are also more committed in communicating CSR programs, policies, initiatives and performances that result from strategic and voluntary decisions. CSR explicitness is lower in China, as much as in Hong Kong, a little higher in Korea. No difference, instead, are found in using CSR symbolic
communication on corporate websites of different NBS.
The findings highlight that online CSR communication in Asian countries tends to mirror national business profiles. In particular, CSR penetration and CSR explicitness vary in the Asian nations, while CSR symbolic communication does not seem to be related to the peculiarity of each NBS. Findings thus confirm that the NBS is a relevant factor in the way CSR is defined, practiced and communicated on corporate websites, as it reflects and is influenced by the specific cultural and social environments.
The research enriches the understanding of CSR communication practices in different Asian countries on the basis of the national business systems theory. Findings provide Asian managers with indications on how to make CSR communication more effective on their corporate websites in terms of CSR penetration and explicitness