RESEARCH - Sustained benefits seen with combination drug therapy for RA

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Sustained Benefits Seen With Combination Drug Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis

May 22, 2009 — Using a combination of disease-modifying antirheumatic

drugs (DMARDs) rather than just one DMARD to treat early rheumatoid

arthritis results in higher long-term remission rates, Finnish

researchers report in the May issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

" The present follow-up study shows that in patients with clinically

active early rheumatoid arthritis, initial therapy with a combination

of traditional DMARDs as compared with a single DMARD translates into

improved long-term outcomes in terms of clinical disease activity and

remissions, " lead author Dr. Vappu Rantalaiho and colleagues note.

Regardless of which initial treatment strategy is used, they add,

tight control of disease activity, with modifications, as needed, in

the DMARD regimen and with intraarticular injections of steroids, can

preserve function in most patients.

Recent findings have suggested that early and aggressive therapy with

DMARDs can actually modify the short-term disease course, Dr.

Rantalaiho, from Tampere University Hospital, and co-researchers

explain. Whether this approach has any impact on the long-term

prognosis, however, was unclear.

The current results stem from a study of 199 patients with early

active disease who were randomized to receive combination therapy with

methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and hydroxychloroquine plus prednisolone

or treatment with sulfasalazine with or without prednisolone. After 2

years, any treatment was permitted, but remission was still the goal.

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Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/703142

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