Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39843353›Full record

SynthesisRMD open2025

Efficacy and safety of pharmacological treatments in inclusion body myositis: a systematic review.

Eduardo José Ferreira Santos, Bayram Farisogullari, Nicholas Yapp, Hermaleigh Townsley, Pedro Sousa, Pedro M Machado

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in RMD open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Eduardo José Ferreira Santos *Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0003-0557-2377
Bayram Farisogullari *Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9394-1103
Nicholas YappUniversity of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Hermaleigh TownsleySheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK.
Pedro SousaHealth Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC), Coimbra, Portugal.
Pedro M MachadoDepartment of Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London, London, UK p.machado@ucl.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-8411-7972

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo identify the best evidence on the efficacy of treatment interventions for inclusion body myositis (IBM) and to describe their safety.

methodsSystematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of pharmacological treatments of adults with IBM, conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook, updating a previous Cochrane review. The search strategy was run on Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE and EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. Assessment of risk of bias, data extraction and synthesis were performed independently by two reviewers. Data pooled in statistical meta-analyses, if possible.

resultsFrom a total of 487 records, 48 were selected for full-text review, 14 fulfilled the inclusion criteria, but only 2 RCTs were included in meta-analyses due to clinical heterogeneity (different drug interventions or dosages). Treatments included various immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory agents, alongside interventions modulating muscle growth and protein homoeostasis. Efficacy was assessed across multiple outcomes, namely muscle strength, physical function, mobility and muscle trophicity. Trials of methotrexate (MTX), intravenous immunoglobulin, interferon beta-1a and MTX, MTX and anti-T-lymphocyte immunoglobulin, oxandrolone, MTX and azathioprine, bimagrumab, arimoclomol, and sirolimus provided low-quality to high-quality evidence of having no effect on the progression of IBM.

conclusionsDrug interventions for IBM were not effective for most of the outcomes of interest. We observed inconsistency of outcome measures across trials. More RCTs are needed, of adequate size and duration, and using a standardised set of outcome measures.

Indexed as

Immunomodulating AgentsImmunosuppressive AgentsMyositis, Inclusion BodyHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeImmunomodulating AgentsImmunosuppressive AgentsAntirheumatic AgentsAutoimmunityBiological TherapyOutcome Assessment, Health CareTreatment

Identifiers

PMID39843353
PMCPMC11759215

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.