Novel therapies in the treatment of spondyloarthritis

Spondyloarthritis represents one of the commonest groups of inflammatory arthritides with onset in the third and fourth decades and primarily affecting the axial skeleton. Current treatment is primarily symptomatic, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs being used most commonly. No therapeutics have been shown to prevent structural damage. The development of validated and standardised outcome instruments and a composite criterion of response should encourage evaluation of new therapeutics. Anti-TNF- alpha -directed therapeutics have been shown to be dramatically effective in short-term (12 week) placebo-controlled trials in both ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis whilst observational cohorts describe efficacy that is maintained for over one year. Treatment has been well-tolerated, with mycobacterial infections being the primary concern. Significant costs and the requirement for continuous therapy are likely to spur the development of orally bioavailable agents targeting TNF- alpha expression.