Does etanercept exert beneficial effects on articular cartilage biomarkers of degradation and turnover in patients with ankylosing spondylitis?
Our data suggest that an anti-TNF-alpha agent, etanercept, may modify cartilage turnover. These include decreased degradation of type II collagen and increased turnover of aggrecan. Additional therapeutic properties of some anti-TNF-alpha agents in AS, such as infliximab, may be related to decreased expression of MMP. Additional studies in larger populations are therefore warranted.
These results cast doubt on the interpretation of the N2 enhancement as reflecting response inhibition processes per se. The pattern of results was interpreted as providing support for the unique cue model of learning rather than the configural model of learning and was discussed in the context of a recent model of executive functioning.