Vol.19 No.4

Original Article

A comparative study of the effects of bucillamine and salazosulfapyridine in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Authors

Mikio Nakajima1 , Naoki Ueda1 , Hidetsugu Ohara1 , Muneaki Abe2 , Mitsuo Kinoshita1

  • Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Osaka Medical College, 2-7 Daigaku-machi, Takatsuki Osaka, 569-8686, Japan
  • Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shiroyama Hospital, 2-8-1 Habikino, Habikino Osaka, 583-0872, Japan
Received:

21 November 2008

Accepted:

16 March

Published online:

11 April 2009

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Abstract

Bucillamine (Buc), developed in Japan, is a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) which has been used to treat numerous patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Japan and Korea with favorable results. However, it has not been used globally. In the present study, we compared the timing of onset of efficacy and the usefulness of this drug with that of the globally accepted agent salazosulfapyridine (SASP). There were 26 patients in the Buc group and 23 in the SASP group. We compared changes in the number of swollen joints, number of painful joints, duration of morning stiffness, grip strength, levels of inflammatory marker [erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP)], rheumatoid factor (RF), physician’s rating by visual analogue scale (VAS), patient’s rating of pain, patient’s overall rating (VAS), and improvement according to European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) criteria (DAS28-CRP, DAS28-ESR) in these two groups of patients. Both Buc and SASP were shown to be efficacious within 3 months after the start of treatment. Both drugs were found to be suitable as first-line treatment of early RA. Signs of efficacy tended to occur earlier with Buc than with SASP, and Buc also tended to have higher efficacy than SASP.

Key words

Bucillamine - Disease activity score (DAS) - Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) - Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) - Salazosulfapyridine