Experiences with IL-1 blockade in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis - data from the German AID-registry

Efficacy and safety of therapies for Still's disease and macrophage activation syndrome (MAS): a systematic review informing the EULAR/PReS guidelines for the management of Still's disease

OBJECTIVES

To analyse the efficacy and safety of treatments for Still's disease and macrophage activation syndrome (MAS).

METHODS

Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched for clinical trials (randomised, randomised controlled trial (RCT), controlled and clinical controlled trial (CCT)), observational studies (retrospective, longitudinal observational retrospective (LOR), prospective and longitudinal observational prospective (LOP)) and systematic reviews (SRs), in which the populations studied were patients with Still's disease and MAS. The intervention was any pharmacological treatment (approved or under evaluation) versus any comparator drug or placebo, and as outcomes, any relevant efficacy and safety event. The risk of bias (RoB) was assessed with the Cochrane RoB and AMSTAR-2 (Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews-2, version 2) for SRs.

RESULTS

128 full texts were included: 25 RCTs, 1 CCT, 11 SRs published after 2013 and 91 LOP/LOR studies. In Still's disease, interleukin (IL)-1 inhibitors (IL-1i) and IL-6R inhibitors (IL-6i) were the most studied drugs. Two meta-analyses on RCTs showed an OR, to achieve an ARC50 response rate, of 6.02 (95% CI 2.24 to 21.36) and 8.08 (95% CI 1.89 to 34.57) for IL-1i and IL-6Ri, respectively. Retrospective studies showed that early initiation of IL-1i or IL-6i was associated with high rates of clinically inactive disease. In MAS, GCs were employed in all patients, often associated with ciclosporin and/or anakinra. Rates of complete response were reported, with a range from 53% to 100%. Emapalumab was the only drug tested in a CCT, with a complete response of 93%.

CONCLUSION

IL-1i and IL-6Ri show the highest level of efficacy in the treatment of Still's disease. For MAS, IL-1 and interferon-γ inhibition appear to be effective on a background of high-dose glucocorticoids.

Efficacy and safety of canakinumab in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, the first Chinese experience

BACKGROUND

Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) is a severe form of juvenile arthritis that is characterized by chronic joint inflammation and systemic symptoms such as fever, rash, and organ involvement. Anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody tocilizumab is an effective treatment. However, some patients still experience persisting or recurrent symptoms and the real-world effectiveness of canakinumab in Chinese patients with sJIA has never been reported. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of canakinumab in Chinese patients with sJIA using real-world data.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study on children with active sJIA. Clinical features, laboratory data, corticosteroid dosage, and adverse events (AEs) were collected at baseline and at 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeks after initiating canakinumab treatment.

RESULTS

Seven female and four male patients were included in the study. All patients had previously been treated with tocilizumab and were administered canakinumab for 12.4 ± 3.4 months. Notably, significant improvements were observed in both clinical signs and symptoms as well as laboratory indicators. Four children under corticosteroid treatment were able to successfully discontinue their corticosteroid therapy: one at week 4, two at week 12, and one at week 24. Notably, there was a significant reduction in the number of tender and swollen joints (P = 0.0059) as well as the systemic juvenile arthritis disease activity score (P < 0.0001). The most common AE was infection, but no patients experienced serious AEs. No cases of macrophage activation syndrome or death were reported during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

Canakinumab was found to be potentially efficacious and safe in Chinese patients with sJIA. No new AEs were observed with canakinumab treatment.

Adverse events of biological agents in pediatric rheumatologic diseases

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate adverse events (AEs) in pediatric patients with rheumatologic diseases being treated with approved or off-label biologic agents (BAs).

METHODS

This observational, retrospective, multicenter study was conducted from 2010 to 2022 in patients under 18 years of age with rheumatic diseases who were receiving interleukin-1 antibodies (Anti-IL1), interleukin-6 antibodies (Anti-IL6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors (anti-TNF). Efficacy, AEs, and timing of AEs were collected from electronic medical records.

RESULTS

Three hundred and fifteen BAs were prescribed to 237 patients. Fifty AEs occurred in 44 patients (18.6%). Anti-TNF exposure was present in 8 (72.2%) of 11 patients with latent tuberculosis (TB) and in all 7 patients with herpes infections. Four of 6 patients (66.7%) with recurrent upper respiratory tract infections and 7 of 8 patients (87.5%) with local skin reactions were on Anti-IL1. The cutoff value for latent TB development was determined as 23.5 months by ROC analysis (AUC: 0.684 ± 0.072, p = 0.038, 95% CI: 0.54-0.82). In patients who used BA for 23.5 months or more, the risk of latent TB was 5.94-fold (p = 0.024, 95% CI: 1.26-27.97). Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) occurred in 2 patients on anakinra, and anaphylaxis occurred in 1 patient on anti-IL6. There were no cases of malignancy or death in any patient.

CONCLUSION

The physician should be vigilant for latent TB in patients exposed to BA for more than 2 years. While local skin reactions are more prevalent in patients receiving anti-IL1, severe skin reactions such as DRESS may also occur.

Canakinumab as first-line biological therapy in Still's disease and differences between the systemic and the chronic-articular courses: Real-life experience from the international AIDA registry

Objective

Interleukin (IL)-1 inhibitors are largely employed in patients with Still's disease; in cases with refractory arthritis, IL-6 inhibitors have shown to be effective on articular inflammatory involvement. The aim of the present study is to assess any difference in the effectiveness of the IL-1β antagonist canakinumab prescribed as first-line biologic agent between the systemic and the chronic-articular Still's disease.

Methods

Data were drawn from the retrospective phase of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) international registry dedicated to Still's disease. Patients with Still's disease classified according to internationally accepted criteria (Yamaguchi criteria and/or Fautrel criteria) and treated with canakinumab as first-line biologic agent were enrolled.

Results

A total of 26 patients (17 females, 9 males; 18 patients developing Still's disease after the age of 16 years) were enrolled; 16 (61.5%) patients suffered from the systemic pattern of the disease; 10 (38.5%) patients suffered from the chronic-articular type. No differences were observed between the systemic and the chronic-articular Still's disease in the frequency of complete response, of flares after the start of canakinumab (p = 0.701) and in the persistence in therapy (p = 0.62). No statistical differences were observed between the two groups after 3 months, 12 months and at the last assessment in the decrease of: the systemic activity score (p = 0.06, p = 0.17, p = 0.17, respectively); the disease activity score on 28 joints (p = 0.54, p = 0.77, p = 0.98, respectively); the glucocorticoid dosage (p = 0.15, p = 0.50, and p = 0.50, respectively); the use of concomitant disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (p = 0.10, p = 1.00, and p = 1.00, respectively). No statistically significant differences were observed in the decrease of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p = 0.34), C reactive protein (p = 0.48), and serum ferritin levels (p = 0.34) after the start of canakinumab.

Conclusion

Canakinumab used for Still's disease has been effective in controlling both clinical and laboratory manifestations disregarding the type of disease course when used as first-line biotechnological agent. These excellent results might have been further enhanced by the early start of IL-1 inhibition.

Biomarkers in Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Macrophage Activation Syndrome and Their Importance in COVID Era

Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) and its complication, macrophage activation syndrome (sJIA-MAS), are rare but sometimes very serious or even critical diseases of childhood that can occasionally be characterized by nonspecific clinical signs and symptoms at onset-such as non-remitting high fever, headache, rash, or arthralgia-and are biologically accompanied by an increase in acute-phase reactants. For a correct positive diagnosis, it is necessary to rule out bacterial or viral infections, neoplasia, and other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Delays in diagnosis will result in late initiation of targeted therapy. A set of biomarkers is useful to distinguish sJIA or sJIA-MAS from similar clinical entities, especially when arthritis is absent. Biomarkers should be accessible to many patients, with convenient production and acquisition prices for pediatric medical laboratories, as well as being easy to determine, having high sensitivity and specificity, and correlating with pathophysiological disease pathways. The aim of this review was to identify the newest and most powerful biomarkers and their synergistic interaction for easy and accurate recognition of sJIA and sJIA-MAS, so as to immediately guide clinicians in correct diagnosis and in predicting disease outcomes, the response to treatment, and the risk of relapses. Biomarkers constitute an exciting field of research, especially due to the heterogeneous nature of cytokine storm syndromes (CSSs) in the COVID era. They must be selected with utmost care-a fact supported by the increasingly improved genetic and pathophysiological comprehension of sJIA, but also of CSS-so that new classification systems may soon be developed to define homogeneous groups of patients, although each with a distinct disease.

Development and Implementation of the AIDA International Registry for Patients With Still's Disease

Objective

Aim of this paper is to present the design, construction, and modalities of dissemination of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry for patients with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) and adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD), which are the pediatric and adult forms of the same autoinflammatory disorder.

Methods

This Registry is a clinical, physician-driven, population- and electronic-based instrument implemented for the retrospective and prospective collection of real-world data. The collection of data is based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool and is intended to obtain evidence drawn from routine patients' management. The collection of standardized data is thought to bring knowledge about real-life clinical research and potentially communicate with other existing and future Registries dedicated to Still's disease. Moreover, it has been conceived to be flexible enough to easily change according to future scientific acquisitions.

Results

Starting from June 30th to February 7th, 2022, 110 Centers from 23 Countries in 4 continents have been involved. Fifty-four of these have already obtained the approval from their local Ethics Committees. Currently, the platform counts 290 users (111 Principal Investigators, 175 Site Investigators, 2 Lead Investigators, and 2 data managers). The Registry collects baseline and follow-up data using 4449 fields organized into 14 instruments, including patient's demographics, history, clinical manifestations and symptoms, trigger/risk factors, therapies and healthcare access.

Conclusions

This international Registry for patients with Still's disease will allow a robust clinical research through collection of standardized data, international consultation, dissemination of knowledge, and implementation of observational studies based on wide cohorts of patients followed-up for very long periods. Solid evidence drawn from “real-life” data represents the ultimate goal of this Registry, which has been implemented to significantly improve the overall management of patients with Still's disease. NCT 05200715 available at https://clinicaltrials.gov/.