Objective:To evaluate the effect of adalimumab on the frequency of anterior uveitis (AU) flares in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Methods:We determined the history of ophthalmologist-diagnosed AU in 1250 patients with active AS who were enrolled in a multinational, open-label, uncontrolled clinical study of treatment with adalimumab, 40 mg every other week for up to 20 weeks. All AU flares were documented throughout the adalimumab treatment period plus 70 days. We compared the rates of AU flares per 100 patient years (PYs) reported during the year before adalimumab treatment with rates during adalimumab treatment, in total and by patient subgroups.Results:The AU flare rates before adalimumab treatment were 15/100 PYs in all patients (n = 1250), 68.4/100 PYs in 274 patients with a history of AU flares, 176.9/100 PYs in 106 patients with a recent history of AU flares, 192.9/100 PYs in 28 patients with symptomatic AU at baseline and 129.1/100 PYs in 43 patients with a history of chronic uveitis. During adalimumab treatment, the rate of AU flares was reduced by 51% in all patients, by 58% in 274 patients with a history of AU, by 68% in 106 patients with a recent history of AU, by 50% in 28 patients with symptomatic AU at baseline and by 45% in 43 patients with chronic uveitis. AU flares during adalimumab treatment were predominantly mild. Two patients with periods of high AS disease activity had new-onset AU during the treatment period.Conclusions:Results of this prospective open-label study suggest that adalimumab had a substantial preventive effect on AU flares in patients with active AS, including patients with a recent history of AU flares.Clinical trials:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00478660.

), the BMD in the FN was 5% higher in women with the bb BsmI genotype than in women with the BB genotype ( p < 0.05). After correction for muscle strength, no association was found. A significant association between the VDR genotypes and quadriceps and grip strength was observed. In nonobese women, a 23% difference in quadriceps strength ( p < 0.01) and 7% in grip strength (NS) was observed between the bb and BB genotype of the VDR. After correction for confounding factors and BMD, this association was significant for quadriceps and grip strength. These results indicate a major association of an allelic variant at the VDR locus with muscle strength in elderly nonobese women, which could explain a small association between VDR polymorphism with BMD in the femoral neck in nonobese women. No such associations were found in obese women, suggesting that factors related to obesity obscure such an

ObjectivesTo compare the efficacy and safety of intensive combination strategies with glucocorticoids (GCs) in the first 16 weeks (W) of early rheumatoid arthritis (eRA) treatment, focusing on high-risk patients, in the Care in early RA trial.Methods400 disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD)-naive patients with eRA were recruited and stratified into high risk or low risk according to classical prognostic markers. High-risk patients (n=290) were randomised to 1/3 treatment strategies: combination therapy for early rheumatoid arthritis (COBRA) Classic (methotrexate (MTX)+ sulfasalazine+60 mg prednisone tapered to 7.5 mg daily from W7), COBRA Slim (MTX+30 mg prednisone tapered to 5 mg from W6) and COBRA Avant-Garde (MTX+leflunomide+30 mg prednisone tapered to 5 mg from W6). Treatment modifications to target low-disease activity were mandatory from W8, if desirable and feasible according to the rheumatologist. The primary outcome was remission (28 joint disease activity score calculated with C-reactive protein <2.6) at W16 (intention-to-treat analysis). Secondary endpoints were good European League Against Rheumatism response, clinically meaningful health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) response and HAQ equal to zero. Adverse events (AEs) were registered.ResultsData from 98 Classic, 98 Slim and 94 Avant-Garde patients were analysed. At W16, remission was reached in 70.4% Classic, 73.6% Slim and 68.1% Avant-Garde patients (p=0.713). Likewise, no significant differences were shown in other secondary endpoints. However, therapy-related AEs were reported in 61.2% of Classic, in 46.9% of Slim and in 69.1% of Avant-Garde patients (p=0.006).ConclusionsFor high-risk eRA, MTX associated with a moderate step-down dose of GCs was as effective in inducing remission at W16 as DMARD combination therapies with moderate or high step-down GC doses and it showed a more favourable short-term safety profile.EudraCT number:2008-007225-39.

EudraCT-number 2008-007225-39 and NCT01172639; Results.