A Phase 2 study which appears in British medical journal the Lancet suggests psoriatic arthritis sufferers can benefit from treatment with ustekinumab.

Research conducted at a number of academic medical centres found that after a 12 week period, 42 per cent of those who were given either 63mg or 90mg of the drug within the first four weeks reported positive effects in terms of symptom alleviation, including reduced joint pain and stiffness.

This assertion is based on the American College of Rheumatology scoring method, and compares favourably to the 14 per cent of patients who noted an improvement having received a placebo.

Furthermore, there were no incidences of death, malignancy, tuberculosis or serious infection in either the ustekinumab or placebo groups.

"This is a positive development for patients living with the joint pain and swelling that characterises the disease, even as more research is needed to further test the efficacy of this treatment in psoriatic arthritis," commented Dr Alice Gottlieb, chairperson of the Department of Dermatology at Tufts Medical Center, US and lead author of the study.

Ustekinumab, a human immunoglobulin monoclonal antibody, is already being considered as a possible treatment for people with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Around five to seven per cent of people with psoriasis have psoriatic arthritis.

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  ... in a wide range of conditions, including: arthritic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis , osteo-arthritis , ankylosing spondylitis, acute gout; acute musculoskeletal disorders such as peri-arthritis (eg, frozen shoulder), tendinitis, tenosynovitis, bursitis; other painful conditions resulting ...
  
  
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