NEW YORK, (Reuters Health) -- An experimental drug improves
symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis quickly and more effectively than drugs
traditionally used to treat the disease, investigators report in the December
4th issue of The Lancet.
Normally, rheumatoid arthritis is treated with drugs that help slow down
the disease process and control symptoms such as swollen and painful joints. But
as Dr. Ravinder Maini from the Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK,
and colleagues point out, "not all patients tolerate these drugs or show an
acceptable therapeutic response to them."
In looking for new ways to treat rheumatoid arthritis, scientific evidence
points to tumor necrosis factor, a toxic substance produced by the body, as a
major player in the disease process. An experimental drug known as infliximab
blocks the production of tumor necrosis factor, and investigators therefore
wanted to test it in patients with rheumatoid arthritis to see if symptoms would
improve more with infliximab than with the usual methotrexate treatment.
Four hundred and twenty-eight patients took part in the trial, and they
were given either a placebo containing no active medication or various doses of
infliximab. All patients also received the drug methotrexate during the study,
and symptoms were compared at the end of 30 weeks between the groups.
Methotrexate is a standard drug used to treat severe rheumatoid arthritis.
After 30 weeks, investigators found that symptoms improved in over half of
patients treated with infliximab plus methotrexate, compared with about one
fifth of those who received placebo medication and methotrexate. The researchers
also note that response to the new drug was rapid, with more than half of those
treated with infliximab improving after only 2 weeks of treatment.
The most commonly reported adverse events related to infliximab were
reactions at the injection site where the drug was given and mild headache and
nausea.
After 6 months of observation, investigators say that the safety of the
new drug is "reassuring," but note that longer studies are needed to confirm its
safety.
