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MR Vol.10 No.2 indexに戻る
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MODERN RHEUMATOLOGY
Vol.10 No.2 |
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Additive combination of actarit and methotrexate
in the treatment of refractory rheumatoid arthritis |
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| M. Aso1, Y. Tanaka1, K. Saito1, K. Fujii1, A.
Takazawa1, T. Ota2, S. Eto1 |
(1)First Department of Internal Medicine, School
of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health,
1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan
(2)Clinical Laboratory, University Hospital of Occupational and Environmental
Health, Kitakyushu, Japan |
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| Abstract |
| Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate
the efficacy and safety of an additive combination of a disease-modifying
antirheumatic drug (DMARD) actarit and low-dose methotrexate (MTX)
in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) unresponsive to
MTX. Thirty-four patients with active RA, who had been unsuccessfully
treated with MTX for at least 3 months were enrolled on a 24-week
course of actarit (300 mg/day) and MTX (2.5-10 mg/week). Disease
activity was evaluated by physical global assessments using conventional
measures (Japan Rheumatism Association), and the American College
of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria of improvements in RA. Thirty-two
patients completed this study. No severe adverse drug reactions were
seen. Patients whose RA did not respond to MTX alone responded to
the combination therapy, with a significant improvement in the duration
of morning stiffness, grip strength, swollen joint counts, patient's
articular pain score, modified health assessment questionnaire (M-HAQ)
score, score of both patient's and physician's global assessments,
and C-reactive proteins (CRP). Sixteen patients (50.0%) and 9 patients
(31.0%) showed a significant improvement in overall conventional
measures, and ACR response criteria, respectively, and 60.0% of RA
patients who received MTX for more than 1 year showed improvement
in ACR definition. Patients who responded to the combination treatment
within the first 12 weeks showed persistent improvement for the remaining
part of the 24 week period. Our results indicate that the additive
combination of actarit and MTX is safe, and without serious adverse
effects, and has an excellent efficacy in patients with active and
refractory RA. |
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| Key words |
| Key words Actarit ・ Methotrexate ・ Combination
therapy ・ Rheumatoid arthritis |
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