Study: Clinical Remission of Rheumatoid Arthritis Within 20 Years "Seems Exceedingly Rare"

Rheumatoid arthritis attacks that cause damage to joints appear to become milder over the years, but actual clinical remission of the disease within 20 years of onset "seems exceedingly rare," according to French researchers.

The researchers reported in the journal Joint Bone Spine on a study of 88 patients who had suffered with rheumatoid arthritis for at least 15 years.

The researchers said that while "over one-fourth of our patients believed they were in remission and over one half had not seen a physician during the last 6 months," only six of the patients actually met the commonly accepted criteria of clinical remission in rheumatoid arthritis.

The researchers reported that almost half of the patients had undergone total joint replacement, and that the functioning of the patients was "acceptable overall, a result that is partly ascribable to the favorable effects of surgery."

"Although burn-out (remission) within 20 years of rheumatoid arthritis onset seems exceedingly rare, clinical activity is milder than in early rheumatoid arthritis," the researchers concluded.

Other sources: Joint Bone Spine