Research Group Adrian Ciurea
Our group investigates the progression and treatment responses in axial and peripheral spondyloarthritis, axial psoriatic arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis using data from extensive clinical cohorts such as SCQM and EuroSpA. Current projects focus on radiographic progression, site-specific treatment effects, and patient responses to biologic and targeted-synthetic therapies.
Our Projects
Research is based on sequential pelvic and spinal radiographs collected since 2005 in the ongoing Swiss Clinical Quality Management Cohort (SCQM) of patients with axial spondyloarthritis. After an initial scoring of radiographs in 2015, which led to significant publications, a second scoring of over 9’000 spinal radiographs is currently underway. This will allow the assessment of the potentially inhibitory effects of alternative biologic and targeted-synthetic disease-modifying drugs (b/tsDMARDs) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on spinal radiographic progression, in addition to TNF inhibitors. Parallel analyses are being conducted within the EuroSpA collaboration network, which involves several European registries.
This project aims to characterize patients with strictly peripheral spondyloarthritis in the SCQM cohort and to assess their response to different biologic and targeted-synthetic disease-modifying drugs (b/tsDMARDs) in this real-life observational cohort. The analyses will include comparisons with treatment responses in patients with psoriatic arthritis.
Given current controversies surrounding similarities and differences between axSpA and psoriatic arthritis with axial involvement (axPsA), we have characterized the respective populations in the SCQM cohort. We are also investigating potential differences in treatment responses to various b/tsDMARDs among different patient subpopulations.
Following basic research evidence suggesting that an epigenetic component may contribute to joint-specific changes in the pathogenesis of inflammatory rheumatic diseases, we are currently investigating responses to different b/tsDMARDs in rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and psoriatic arthritis within both the SCQM and EuroSpA cohorts.
Selected Publications
- Ciurea A. et al. Characterisation of patients with axial psoriatic arthritis and patients with axial spondyloarthritis and concomitant psoriasis in the SCQM registry. RMD Open 2023;9:e002956.
- Ciurea A. et al. Joint-level responses to tofacitinib and methotrexate: a post hoc analysis of data from ORAL start. Arthritis Res Ther 2023;25:185.
- Micheroli R. et al. Effectiveness of secukinumab versus an alternative TNF inhibitor in patients with axial spondyloarthritis previously exposed to TNF inhibitors in the Swiss Clinical Quality Management cohort. Ann Rheum Dis 2020;79:1203-1209.
- Molnar C. et al. TNF blockers inhibit spinal radiographic progression in ankylosing spondylitis by reducing disease activity: results from the Swiss Clinical Quality Management cohort. Ann Rheum Dis 2018;77:63-69.
- Andrea Götschi, statistician
- Jonas Brändli, statistician