Juergen Rech, Koray Tascilar, Melanie Hagen, Arnd Kleyer, Bernhard Manger, Verena Schoenau, Axel J Hueber, Stefan Kleinert, Xenofon Baraliakos, Jürgen Braun, Uta Kiltz, Martin Fleck, Andrea Rubbert-Roth, David M Kofler, Frank Behrens, Martin Feuchtenberger, Michael Zaenker, Reinhard Voll, Nils Venhoff, Jens Thiel, Cornelia Glaser, Eugen Feist, Gerd R Burmester, Kirsten Karberg, Johannes Strunk, Juan D Cañete, Ladislav Senolt, Maria Filkova, Esperanza Naredo, Raquel Largo, Gerhard Krönke, Maria-Antonietta D'Agostino, Mikkel Østergaard, Georg Schett
BACKGROUND: Individuals with anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) and subclinical inflammatory changes in joints are at high risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment strategies to intercept this pre-stage clinical disease remain to be developed. We aimed to assess whether 6-month treatment with abatacept improves inflammation in preclinical rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: The abatacept reversing subclinical inflammation as measured by MRI in ACPA positive arthralgia (ARIAA) study is a randomised, international, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 14 hospitals and community centres across Europe (11 in Germany, two in Spain, and one in the Czech Republic)...
February 13, 2024: Lancet