Philip Mease, MD: The Relationship Between Psoriatic Arthritis and IBD

There is a relationship between rheumatology disorders such as psoriatic arthritis and gastroenterology diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

In an interview with HCPLive®, Philip J. Mease, MD, director of rheumatology research at the Swedish Rheumatology Research Group, discussed the complex relationship IBD has with some rheumatology disease and how some of the medications available could be effective against both families of disorders.

For example, tofacitinib is currently being used or tested for patients with inflammatory bowel disease, as well as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.

The oral Janus kinase inhibitor was the subject to several abstracts presented virtually during the European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) 2020 meeting.

Mease presented a number of new studies, including the SELECT-PsA-2 trial highlighting upadacitinib as a treatment for psoriatic arthritis.

Upadacitinib, an oral, reversible, JAK inhibitor currently approved for treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, has the potential to be a frontline treatment for patients with psoriatic arthritis.

The rheumatologist explained how the effectiveness of treatments tend to wane overtime for this patient population, highlighting the importance of developing new medications.

Mease also explained some of the ongoing trials testing rheumatology treatments for effectiveness against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including JAK inhibitors.