Living with rheumatoid arthritis can be incredibly draining, especially when the first line of treatment fails. For many patients, this means searching for a new way to manage pain and joint damage. A recent study looked at what happens when these patients switch from a common drug called adalimumab to a different medication called upadacitinib.
The trial involved 492 people who were already taking methotrexate but had not seen success with a previous type of treatment. After 12 weeks, the results showed that those taking upadacitinib saw better improvements in their disease activity scores and reported less pain compared to those on adalimumab. Specifically, more people on upadacitinib reached key goals for reducing inflammation.
While both drugs were found to be equally safe during the 12-week period, upadacitinib showed clear advantages in several areas of relief. However, it is important to note that while pain scores improved more with upadacitinib, some measures of daily disability did not show a significant difference between the two treatments.
