Study: Enbrel Cuts Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare-Ups in 1st Year of Treatment

The arthritis drug etanercept (Enbrel) reduces the number of rheumatoid arthritis flare-ups during the first year of treatment, according to researchers at Cornell University.

Etanercept, an antirheumatic drug, is injected under the skin to reduce the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, such as joint swelling, pain, tiredness, and duration of morning stiffness.

Researchers developed a study to determine the incidence of disease flare-ups during the first year of treatment with etanercept in 88 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and compared it with the number of flare-ups in the same patients during the year before they were treated with the drug. Outpatient clinic charts of the patients were analyzed for this information.

The total number of flare-ups for all study patients in the year before etanercept treatment was 214, with an average being 2.43. The number of flare-ups in the first year of etanercept treatment was 83, with an average of .94.

"This study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the "real world" shows that etanercept is effective in reducing the number of rheumatoid arthritis flares," the researchers reported in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Other sources: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases