[Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs for treatment of ankylosing spondylitis]

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an inflammatory disorder affecting the axial skeleton, peripheral joints, entheses and extra-articular sites. Patients with early disease, a higher level of erythrocyte sedimentation rate and/or peripheral arthritis might benefit from sulfasalazine. Otherwise, there is no evidence that disease-modifying anti-rheumatic (DMARDs) have a therapeutic effect in AS. Clinical evidence that greater TNF-inhibitor effectiveness can be achieved by combining with a DMARD is lacking, but further studies should be performed. More research is needed to clarify the role of DMARDs in the treatment of AS.