International Journal of General Medicine (Jul 2023)

Efficacy of JAK Inhibitors versus DMARDs in the Treatment of Polymyalgia Rheumatica in China

  • Gu J,
  • Yang M,
  • Zhang B,
  • Wang H

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 2981 – 2986

Abstract

Read online

Juanfang Gu,1,2 Mingfeng Yang,1,2 Bin Zhang,1,2 Hongzhi Wang1,2 1Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University (The First Hospital of Jiaxing), Jiaxing, Zhejiang, 314300, People’s Republic of China; 2Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Osteoporosis and Bone Metabolism, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, 314300, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hongzhi Wang; Bin Zhang, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: This retrospective analysis was to assess the role of Janus kinases (JAK) inhibitors compared with conventional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMRADs) in the treatment of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) with glucocorticoids (GCs) reduction.Methods: Clinical information was collected from PMR patients in the JAK inhibitor group and the DMARDs group from January 2020 to August 2021 at Jiaxing first Hospital. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), hemoglobin (Hb), albumin and dose of GCs before and after treatment were compared between two groups.Results: Thirty female patients with PMR were included into this study. The dose of GCs in the JAK inhibitor group was significantly lower than in the DMARDs group at baseline and at 3 and 6 months after treatment. There were no significant differences in various laboratory parameters (including CRP, ESR, Hb and albumin) between two groups (P > 0.05) except that Hb in the DMARDs group was significantly higher than in the JAK inhibitor group at 3 and 6 months after treatment (P< 0.05). One patient in the JAK inhibitor group developed herpes zoster, and received tofacitinib treatment after herpes zoster was relieved.Conclusion: Our study indicates that JAK inhibitors in the treatment of PMR are as effective as DMRADs and are also helpful for the reduction of GCs dose.Keywords: JAK inhibitors, polymyalgia rheumatica, glucocorticoids, disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug

Keywords