RESEARCH - Anti-TNF therapy may help keep RA patients on the job

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Anti-TNF Therapy May Help Keep Arthritis Patients on the Job

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jan 12 - Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)

blockers may help patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) maintain or

increase their hours at work, investigators in Stockholm report in a

new study.

" The economic burden of RA is considerable and productivity loss is

one of the main contributing factors, " Dr. Augustsson, from the

Karolinska University Hospital, and colleagues point out in the

January issue of the ls of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Anti-TNF agents and other biological treatments reduce RA symptoms and

improve functional ability - but they're expensive. In Sweden, the

authors note, drugs are subjected to cost effectiveness analyses

" performed from the societal perspective. "

To learn whether these drugs help people to stay on the job and if

there are cost implications, Dr. Augustsson and her colleagues

analyzed data from the Stockholm anti-TNF-alpha follow-up registry on

594 adults with RA (66% women) who were followed for up to 5 years.

Patient ages ranged from 18 to 55 (mean age 40 years).

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Read the full article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/715017

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