To evaluate ultrasound enthesitis response in psoriatic arthritis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An observational study evaluating the utility of ultrasound (US) confirmed enthesitis as a prognostic marker for response to biologic therapy in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
IRAS ID
242450
Contact name
Madeleine Rooney
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Reserach Goverance
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 29 days
Research summary
The purpose of this project is to assess enthesitis in a cohort of Psoriatic Arthritis patients and how they respond to the biologic treatment available. Enthesitis is defined as inflammation at the insertion of the tendons, ligaments, and capsules into bone and is one of the hallmarks of Psoriatic Arthritis. It is an understudied aspect of the disease and ultrasound scanning has been shown to an effective and easily accessible tool to assess enthesitis. We have a range of treatment option in psoriatic arthritis but a key issue is that we have no way of telling which biologic drug will work for which patient and this can as a result be an expensive random process.
A new medication available called secukinumab, which is a Interleukin 17 inhibitor is now approved as a first line agent for Psoriatic Arthritis once they have failed conventional disease modifying oral treatment. Clinical trials have suggested that both Secukinumab and the Anti TNF therapies are effective in treating enthesitis but this has not been assessed by ultrasound scoring in PsA.
The aim of this observational study is to assess patients once they are approved for biologic treatment, with both clinical and ultrasound scoring systems. We aim to recruit 100 patients who are to commence on both Anti TNF and Secukinumab treatment, reviewing them prior to going on treatment and then at 4 months use repeating the same clinical and ultrasound assessment.
This study will aim to clarify, in a cohort of active PsA patients, what is the prevalence of US confirmed enthesitis, what happens to these scores after biologic treatment, does this correlate with clinical scores and can enthesitis then serve as a prognostic tool in predicting response in patients receiving their biologic therapy.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/WM/0369
Date of REC Opinion
14 Dec 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion