There are several types of arthritis that fall under the term JIA, with all presenting under the age of 16 years. It is a chronic disease and around half of children will continue to suffer from arthritis as adults. There are approximately 12,000 children (1 in 1000) in the UK under 16 years of age that have JIA, with 1 in 10,000 children diagnosed each year.
There are a number of treatments for JIA including anti-inflammatory drugs, disease-modifying drugs, and biologics. Not all children respond to these drugs in the same way and some may develop side effects. Therefore, it is crucial to continue looking for new treatments.
One study that the EATC4Children has led nationally is the HTA-funded study of ‘Steroid Induction Regime in JIA (SIR-JIA); HTA14/167/0 (CI: E. Baildam). This is a feasibility study to determine whether it is possible to conduct a future randomised controlled trial to assess steroid treatment regimens in JIA.
Early phase JIA clinical trials that the EATC4Children are involved in include:
- Secukinumab Safety and Efficacy in Juvenile Psoriatic Arthritis (JPsA) and Enthesitis-related Arthritis (ERA). This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, event-driven randomized withdrawal study to investigate the efficacy and safety of secukinumab treatment in the JIA categories of JPsA and ERA. (CI: A. Ramanan)
- A Repeated Dose-finding Study of Sarilumab in Children and Adolescents With Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (sJIA). This study aims to to describe the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of sarilumab in patients aged 1-17 years with sJIA in order to identify the dose and regimen for adequate treatment of this population. (CI: A. Ramanan)
- An Open-label, Ascending, Repeated Dose-finding Study of Sarilumab in Children and Adolescents With Polyarticular-course Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (pcJIA). This study aims to describe the pharmacokinetic profile of sarilumab in patients aged 2-17 years with pcJIA in order to identify the dose and regimen for adequate treatment of this population (CI: A. Ramanan)
Back to: Experimental Arthritis Treatment Centre for Children