Psoriatic arthritis: targeted aggressive and early treatment has promising outcome

People with psoriatic arthritis respond significantly better to early aggressive drug treatment compared with standard care, according to exciting new research published in The Lancet.

A clinical trial involving more than 200 people compared intensive early treatment carried out in specialist clinics with the care that patients usually receive, to find out which group of patients did better over a year.
“We predicted that a tighter, more aggressive treatment of psoriatic arthritis, in which patients are given escalating dosages of drugs if their condition is not responding, and see a specialist every month with the aim of controlling their symptoms fully and as soon as possible, would result in a good outcome after 12 months,” explains Dr Philip Helliwell.

“We’ve found that tight control of disease activity in psoriatic arthritis, using a targeted approach, significantly improves the joint and skin outcomes for newly diagnosed patients, with no unexpected side-effects.”

The findings provide healthcare professionals with clear evidence of the success of an intensive, targeted treatment approach in psoriatic arthritis. Dr Stephen Simpson from Arthritis Research UK comments:

“Our trial has shown that patients with psoriatic arthritis benefit from early aggressive treatment that reduces the inflammation in the joints.

“Such an approach has proved successful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and this research could lead to a similar change in the way psoriatic arthritis patients are managed in the future.”

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