BARCELONA -- The first trial of a biologic drug in ankylosing spondylitis that included patients with end-stage fusion of the spine found clinical benefits persisting for up to 2 years in this subgroup.

Patients with total spinal ankylosis, who have more functional impairment than do patients with typical ankylosing spondylitis (AS), were excluded from previous studies of tumor necrosis factor-inhibiting drugs, Dr. Desiree van der Heijde said at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology.

In the Adalimumab Trial Evaluating Long-Term Efficacy and Safety in Ankylosing Spondylitis (ATLAS), 315 patients with ankylosing spondylitis were randomized to 40 mg of adalimumab ...