Study: Delay in Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis Hampers Single-Drug Therapy

Researchers in Finland say delaying treatment for rheumatoid arthritis greatly reduces the effectiveness of single-drug therapy.

Their study followed 178 rheumatoid arthritis patients for a two-year period to examine the impact of delayed treatment, and the effectiveness of single-drug and combination therapies.

The patients, whose duration of symptoms varied from weeks to two years, were divided into four groups. Two groups -- one at the onset of symptoms, the other with symptoms for at least four months -- received single-drug treatment.

The other groups received combination therapies of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, including methotrexate. Length of the disease matched that of the first two groups.

Reporting in Arthritis and Rheumatism, researchers found 35 percent of patients receiving single-drug therapy shortly after onset of symptoms showed signs of remission, but in patients whose treatment was delayed, only 11 percent reported substantial relief from morning stiffness, tenderness, swelling and persistent pain.

Forty-two percent of patients who took combination disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs reached remission, whether or not treatment was delayed. Additionally, these patients also experienced less joint damage than patients receiving a single drug.

"The delay of a few months from the onset of symptoms to institution of therapy decreases the ability of the traditional single-drug strategy to induce remission in early (rheumatoid arthritis)," the researchers concluded.

Other sources: Arthritis and Rheumatism