Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis patients receiving Enbrel (Amgen/Pfizer) show excellent response

In patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) who initiated treatment with the drug Enbrel (etanercept),from Amgen and Pfizer, one-third achieved an excellent response, and this response was associated with low measures of disability at study entry, younger age at the onset of JIA, and fewer disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs used before initiating etanercept, according to a study appearing in JAMA. The aim was to evaluate JIA disease activity after beginning treatment with Enbrel and to identify characteristics associated with treatment response. The researchers used data from the Arthritis and Biologicals in Children Register, an ongoing prospective observational study since 1999. Of the 262 patients included, 85 (32 percent) were considered excellent responders (defined as inactive disease or discontinuation earlier due to disease remission) after 15 months of treatment; a total of 85 patients (32 percent) were considered poor responders; and the remaining 92 patients were considered intermediate responders. According to Marieke H. Otten of the Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, who led the study, the secondary analysis with a median follow-up of 35.6 months after initiation of Enbrel showed a range of 37 percent to 49 percent of patients reached inactive disease. See: "Factors Associated With Treatment Response to Etanercept in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis" by Marieke H. Otten et al. JAMA Published online November 6, 2011. doi: 10.1001/jama.2011.1671