Effect of TNF inhibitors on ankylosing spondylitis progression may be greatest after six years

The benefits of TNF-alpha inhibitors in reducing spinal radiographic progression in ankylosing spondylitis is most evident six to eight years after treatment initiation, says a study published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Experts looked at the course of spinal radiographic progression with up to eight years of follow-up in 210 people with ankylosing spondylitis treated with TNF-α inhibitors.

Results

People with ankylosing spondylitis receiving long-term TNF-α inhibitors showed a reduction in spinal radiographic progression after more than four years of follow-up.

They saw a linear progression of disease in the first four years after treatment began, but a deflection from linear progression in years six and eight.

Implications

“These results may refer to a delayed effect of TNF-alpha inhibitors on radiographic progression and support the TNF brake hypothesis,” the authors write.

It could be that the long-term inhibition of inflammation with TNF-alpha inhibitors diminishes new bone formation over time in people with longstanding disease.

Click here to read the original research.

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