Methotrexate safety and efficacy in combination therapies in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis : a post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial (NORD-STAR)

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.OBJECTIVE: To investigate methotrexate safety and influence of dose on efficacy outcomes in combination with three different biological treatments and with active conventional treatment (ACT) in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: This post-hoc analysis included 812 treatment-naïve early RA patients who were randomized (1:1:1:1) in the NORD-STAR trial (NCT01491815) to receive methotrexate in combination with ACT, certolizumab-pegol, abatacept, or tocilizumab. Methotrexate safety, doses, and dose effects on Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) remission were assessed after 24 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: Compared with ACT, the prevalence of methotrexate-associated side effects was higher when methotrexate was combined with tocilizumab (HR 1.48 [95% CI 1.20 to 1.84]), but not with certolizumab-pegol (HR 0.99 [0.79 to 1.23]) or with abatacept (HR 0.93 [0.75 to 1.16]). With ACT as the reference, methotrexate dose was significantly lower when used in combination with tocilizumab (β -4.65 [95% CI -5.83 to -3.46], p<0.001), with abatacept (β -1.15 [-2.27 to -0.03], p=0.04), and numerically lower in combination with certolizumab-pegol (β -1.07 [-2.21 to 0.07], p=0.07). Methotrexate dose reductions were not associated with decreased CDAI remission rates within any of the treatment combinations. CONCLUSION: Methotrexate was generally well tolerated in combination therapies, but adverse events were a limiting factor in receiving the target dose of 25 mg/week, and these were more frequent in combination with tocilizumab versus active conventional treatment. On the other hand, methotrexate dose reductions were not associated with decreased CDAI remission rates within any of the four treatment combinations at 24 weeks. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Factors associated with re-initiation of antidepressant treatment following discontinuation during pregnancy : a register-based cohort study.

Antidepressant treatment when facing a pregnancy is an important issue for many women and their physicians. We hypothesized that women with a greater burden of pre-pregnancy psychiatric illness would be more likely to re-initiate antidepressants following discontinuation of treatment during pregnancy. A register-based cohort study was carried out including 38,595 women who gave birth between the 1st of January 2007 and the 31st of December 2014, who had filled a prescription for an antidepressant medication in the year prior to conception. Logistic regressions were used to explore associations between maternal characteristics and antidepressant treatment discontinuation or re-initiation during pregnancy. Most women discontinued antidepressant treatment during pregnancy (n = 29,095, 75.4%), of whom nearly 12% (n = 3434, 11.8%) re-initiated treatment during pregnancy. In adjusted analyses, parous women (aOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.12-1.33), with high educational level (aOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.36); born within the EU (excluding Nordic countries, aOR 1.41, 95% CI 1.03-1.92) or a Nordic country (aOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.22-1.65); who more often reported prior hospitalizations due to psychiatric disorders (aOR 1.50, 95% CI 1.10-2.03, for three or more episodes); and had longer duration of pre-pregnancy antidepressant use (aOR 6.10, 95% CI 5.48-6.77, for &gt;2 years antidepressant use), were more likely to re-initiate antidepressants than were women who remained off treatment. Women with a greater burden of pre-pregnancy psychiatric illness were more likely to re-initiate antidepressants. Thus, pre-pregnancy psychiatric history may be particularly important for weighing the risks and benefits of discontinuing antidepressants during pregnancy

Plasma interferon-alpha is associated with double-positivity for autoantibodies but is not a predictor of remission in early rheumatoid arthritis-a spin-off study of the NORD-STAR randomized clinical trial

Background The type I interferon (IFN) gene signature is present in a subgroup of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Protein levels of IFN alpha have not been measured in RA and it is unknown whether they associate with clinical characteristics or treatment effect. Methods Patients with early untreated RA (n = 347) were randomized to methotrexate combined with prednisone, certolizumab-pegol, abatacept, or tocilizumab. Plasma IFN alpha protein levels were determined by single molecular array (Simoa) before and 24 weeks after treatment initiation and were related to demographic and clinical factors including clinical disease activity index, disease activity score in 28 joints, swollen and tender joint counts, and patient global assessment. Results IFN alpha protein positivity was found in 26% of the patients, and of these, 92% were double-positive for rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA). IFN alpha protein levels were reduced 24 weeks after treatment initiation, and the absolute change was similar irrespective of treatment. IFN alpha protein positivity was associated neither with disease activity nor with achievement of CDAI remission 24 weeks after randomization. Conclusion IFN alpha protein positivity is present in a subgroup of patients with early RA and associates with double-positivity for autoantibodies but not with disease activity. Pre-treatment IFN alpha positivity did not predict remission in any of the treatment arms, suggesting that the IFN alpha system is distinct from the pathways of TNF, IL-6, and T-cell activation in early RA. A spin-off study of the NORD-STAR randomized clinical trial, NCT01491815 (ClinicalTrials), registered 12/08/2011, .Peer reviewe

Implementation of sacubitril/valsartan in Sweden : clinical characteristics, titration patterns, and determinants

Aims: The aim of this study is to study the introduction of sacubitril/valsartan (sac/val) in Sweden with regards to regional differences, clinical characteristics, titration patterns, and determinants of use and discontinuation. Methods and results: A national cohort of heart failure was defined from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register and National Patient Register. A subcohort with additional data from the Swedish Heart Failure Registry (SwedeHF) was also studied. Cohorts were subdivided as per sac/val prescription and registration in SwedeHF. Median sac/val prescription rate was 20 per 100 000 inhabitants. Between April 2016 and December 2017, we identified 2037 patients with &gt;= 1 sac/val prescription, of which 1144 (56%) were registered in SwedeHF. Overall, patients prescribed with sac/val were younger, more frequently male, and had less prior cardiovascular disease than non-sac/val patients. In SwedeHF subcohort, patients prescribed with sac/val had lower ejection fraction. Overall, younger age [hazard ratio 2.81 (95% confidence interval 2.45-3.22)], registration in SwedeHF [1.97 (1.83-2.12)], male gender [1.50 (1.37-1.64)], ischaemic heart disease [1.50 (1.39-1.62)], lower left ventricular ejection fraction [3.06 (2.18-4.31)], and New York Heart Association IV [1.50 (1.22-1.84)] were predictors for sac/val use. As initiation dose in the sac/val cohort, 38% received 24/26 mg, 54% 49/51 mg, and 9% 97/103 mg. Up-titration to the target dose was achieved in 57% of the overall cohort over a median follow-up of 6 months. The estimated treatment persistence for any dose at 360 days was 82%. Conclusions: Implementation of sac/val in Sweden was slow and varied five-fold across different regions; younger age, male, SwedeHF registration, and ischaemic heart disease were among the independent predictors of receiving sac/val. Overall, treatment persistence and tolerability was high

Urinary prostanoids are elevated by anti-TNF and anti-IL6 receptor disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs but are not predictive of response to treatment in early rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are widely used for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, there are no established biomarkers to predict a patient’s response to these therapies. Prostanoids, encompassing prostaglandins, prostacyclins, and thromboxanes, are potent lipid mediators implicated in RA progression. Nevertheless, the influence of DMARDs on prostanoid biosynthesis in RA patients remains poorly understood. This study aims to assess the impact of various DMARDs on urinary prostanoids levels and to explore whether urinary prostanoid profiles correlate with disease activity or response to therapy. Methods: This study included 152 Swedish female patients with early RA, all rheumatoid factor (RF) positive, enrolled in the NORD-STAR trial (registration number: NCT01491815). Participants were randomized into four therapeutic regimes: methotrexate (MTX) combined with (i) prednisolone (arm ACT), (ii) TNF-α blocker certolizumab pegol (arm CZP), (iii) CTLA-4Ig abatacept (arm ABA), or (iv) IL-6R blocker tocilizumab (arm TCZ). Urine samples, collected before start of treatment and at 24 weeks post-treatment, were analyzed for tetranor-prostaglandin E metabolite (tPGEM), tetranor-prostaglandin D metabolite (tPGDM), 2,3-dinor thromboxane B2 (TXBM), 2,3-dinor-6-keto prostaglandin F1a (PGIM), leukotriene E4 (LTE4) and 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to analyze the change in urinary eicosanoids and their correlations to clinical outcomes. Results: Patients receiving MTX combined with CZP or TCZ exhibited significant elevations in urinary tPGEM and TXBM levels after 24 weeks of treatment. Other eicosanoids did not show significant alterations in response to any treatment. Baseline urinary eicosanoid levels did not correlate with baseline clinical disease activity index (CDAI) levels, nor with changes in CDAI from baseline to week 24. Their levels were also similar between patients who achieved CDAI remission and those with active disease at week 24. Conclusions: Treatment with anti-TNF or anti-IL6R agents in early RA patients leads to an increased systemic production of proinflammatory and prothrombotic prostanoids. However, urinary eicosanoid levels do not appear to be predictive of the response to DMARDs therapy.Peer reviewe