 - which experts say could give hope to millions of people at risk of the disease 14 02 2024.jpeg)
Scientists have discovered an injection that can prevent rheumatoid arthritis (RA) - which experts say could give hope to millions of people at risk of the disease.
RA is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in the body and causes joint pain. According to the World Health Organization, about 18 million people in the world are affected by this disease, which can lead to problems with the heart, lungs, or nervous system.
It most often begins in middle age, but much younger people can be affected. No treatment can prevent the disease.
Now researchers have found that an existing RA drug that patients can inject into their stomach or thigh can help slow the progression of the disease in people with early symptoms or stop it altogether.
A clinical trial found that abatacept was "effective in preventing the onset" of RA. The researchers said the results, published in the Lancet, were "promising" and could be "good news for people at risk of arthritis".
Abatacept is prescribed to people who already have RA, but the team, led by King's College London, is investigating whether it can prevent the disease from developing in people thought to be at risk.
The drug, which is administered in a hospital by drip or at home with weekly injections, works by targeting the cause of the inflammation.
Two hundred and thirteen patients were recruited from 28 hospital-based early arthritis clinics in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The researchers judged all of them to be at early risk of RA.
110 of them were given abatacept and the rest were assigned to a placebo group. The expected proportion of patients remaining arthritis-free after 12 months was 92.8% in the abatacept group and 69.2% in the placebo group.
After two years, 27 (25%) of the abatacept group had progressed to RA compared with 38 (37%) of the placebo group.
Professor Andrew Cope, from King's College London, said: "This is the largest rheumatoid arthritis prevention trial to date and the first to show that a therapy licensed for the treatment of established rheumatoid arthritis is also effective in preventing the onset of the disease in people at risk".
"These initial results could be good news for people at risk of arthritis, as we show that the drug not only prevents the onset of the disease during the treatment phase but can also relieve symptoms such as pain and fatigue.".
He added: "There are currently no drugs to prevent this potentially debilitating disease. Our next steps are to study the people at risk in more detail to make sure that those at highest risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, will get the medicine".
The study also showed other outcomes of abatacept use, such as lower pain scores and higher quality of life scores among patients./BGNES
