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Bone status over 1 yr of etanercept treatment in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

G Simonini1, T Giani, S Stagi

  • 1Department of Pediatrics-Rheumatology Unit, Via Pico della Mirandola 24, 50132 Florence, Italy. gabriele.simonini@unifi.it

Rheumatology (Oxford, England)
|March 3, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Etanercept treatment improved bone mineral density in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) over one year. This therapy helped reduce bone loss by controlling disease activity in JIA patients.

Area of Science:

  • Rheumatology
  • Pediatrics
  • Bone Metabolism

Background:

  • Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) can lead to significant bone mineral loss.
  • Assessing bone status in pediatric rheumatic diseases is crucial for long-term health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of etanercept treatment on bone mineral status in children with active polyarticular JIA over a one-year period.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study involving 20 children with active polyarticular JIA treated with etanercept.
  • Bone mineral status was assessed using broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) at the calcaneus at baseline and 1-year follow-up.
  • Patient response was defined by the American College of Rheumatology Pediatric 50 criteria.

Main Results:

  • After 12 months, 75% of patients were responders, showing no significant difference in baseline characteristics compared to non-responders.
  • While the overall group showed no significant change in BUA or Z-score at 6 months or 1 year, responders demonstrated a significant increase in both BUA and Z-score values at 1-year follow-up.
  • Responders' BUA increased from 43.5 +/- 3.2 to 55.2 +/- 3.3 dB/MHz (P<0.001) and Z-score from 1.5 +/- 0.4 to -0.3 +/- 0.2 (P<0.002) at 1 year.

Conclusions:

  • This pilot study provides initial evidence that etanercept therapy, by controlling disease activity, may induce a sustained benefit on bone loss in JIA.
  • The findings suggest a potential therapeutic role for etanercept in preserving bone health in children with JIA.
  • Larger prospective studies are recommended to confirm these promising results in a broader patient population.
Abstract

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