Abstract
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic rheumatic disease of the axial skeleton (spine and sacroiliac joints). Only nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α inhibitors have currently been shown as effective for the treatment of signs and symptoms of active AS with predominant axial involvement. In contrast to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) play only a minor role in the management of AS and only in cases with peripheral joint involvement. Herein, this review describes the pharmacological and nonpharmacological management of AS, based on recent international recommendations for the management of AS by the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis (ASAS) group. Despite the overall demonstrated efficacy of currently available treatments for AS, up to 40% of treated patients do not achieve an acceptable clinical improvement during therapy. Therefore, this article also reviews the evidence regarding the potential role for new agents targeting B-cells, T-cells, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-17, and IL-12/23 in patients with AS.
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