Psoriatic Arthritis Study Raises Hope for Earlier Intervention

May 2024 — It is estimated that approximately 6.4 million people in Europe have the inflammatory autoimmune disease psoriasis, and 3% of the global population are affected. Roughly 30% of people who have psoriasis will develop a form of arthritis known as "psoriatic arthritis," or PsA.

This secondary disease can be painful and debilitating, leading to irreversible degeneration of bone and tissue. Psoriasis and PsA also can increase the risk of other comorbidities, including cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and depression.

HIPPOCRATES, European Study of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis, in the News

According to a March 2024 article by Medscape Medical News, a group of experts in proteomics, rheumatology, dermatology and related disciplines established HIPPOCRATES (Health Initiatives in Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Consortium European States) to address the main challenges in the early identification and management of PsA. Organizations such as GRAPPA, HUPO, EULAR, and EUROPSO joined them in this effort, as did companies like Trajan Scientific and Medical (Trajan), and others.

University College of Dublin (UCD) Professor of Proteomics, Stephen Pennington told Medscape, "Dermatologists need better tools to be able to recognize when they should refer their psoriasis patients to rheumatologists."

"We know that 30% will develop PsA, but we cannot identify which person with psoriasis is at risk," said rheumatology expert, Professor Oliver FitzGerald of UCD, in an interview with Medscape.

"A clearer understanding of PsA could lead to development of tools for its early diagnosis and identification of disease prevention strategies."

HIPPOCRATES Has 4 Key Goals:

1. Identify specific PsA disease markers to develop accurate diagnostic tools
2. Develop prediction strategies to identify which person with psoriasis will develop PsA
3. Monitor and prevent PsA disease progression to irreversible joint damage
4. Identify personalized treatment options, so that patients are treated with the right medicines for their specific disease

As a consortium partner, the Neoteryx^® microsampling brand of Trajan Scientific and Medical (Trajan) has been contributing its remote Mitra^® devices based on VAMS^® technology and Mitra^® Microsample Collection Kits to the HIPPOCRATES study in Europe.

The goal is to send remote sample collection kits to a subset of approximately 3,000 study participants who can use finger-prick blood sample collection at home for the HIPPOCRATES Prospective Observational Study (HPOS). After collecting their blood samples at home, HPOS participants would mail their samples to a central lab for analysis and data generation.

HPOS is recruiting people with psoriasis in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Greece & Portugal. HPOS also plans to launch in France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

This is curated news content. For more insights and details about HIPPOCRATES and HPOS, please read the original article published online by Medscape Medical News. Visit the HIPPOCRATES website here.

For more information about the Mitra device and Mitra Blood Collection Kit, please visit our product pages.

Image Credits: Medscape Medical News, Trajan, iStock