Biologics may improve synovitis, enthesitis in subclinical PsA patients

Treatment with biologics results in short-term improvements of joint synovitis and enthesitis in patients with subclinical psoriatic arthritis (PsA), specifically for small joint synovitis, a study has shown.

The authors used musculoskeletal ultrasound to observe the short-term efficacy of biologics on synovitis and enthesitis in subclinical PsA in this multicentre, observational, prospective real-world study. A total of 178 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis without joint symptoms were screened, all of whom received their first biologic treatment.

After 12 weeks, the authors repeated the musculoskeletal ultrasound to assess changes in joint synovitis and enthesitis.

Of the enrolled patients, 22 were identified as having subclinical PsA. The synovitis and enthesitis scores at week 0 were 12.5, which decreased to 8.4 by week 12 (p<0.001). The small joint synovitis score, on the other hand, was 10.5 at week 0, which decreased to 6.9 by week 12 (p<0.001).

The study was limited by its small sample size, which may have introduced bias in the analysis.

“PsA is a condition that can lead to permanent joint deformities,” the authors said. “It is crucial to find ways to prevent psoriasis from progressing to PsA.”