Study: Cyclosporin A Plus Methotrexate Slows Rheumatoid Arthritis

Patients in the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis appear to fare better when treated with cyclosporin A and methotrexate together compared to just cyclosporin A alone.

As reported in the April issue of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, a team of Dutch researchers found that this combination therapy was probably better at improving clinical disease activity and definitely better at slowing down the radiological progression of the disease. However, neither treatment proved very effective in inducing clinical remission.

The researchers arrived at these findings after comparing the effectiveness and toxicity of the two treatments in 120 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

After 48 weeks of treatment, clinical remission was achieved in only four patients in the monotherapy group and six patients in the combination therapy group.

Treatment was stopped prematurely for 27 patients in the monotherapy group and 26 in the combination therapy group. The researchers reported a tendency towards more toxicity in the combination therapy group.

Other sources: Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, 2003; 62: 291-296