Severe flare of rheumatoid arthritis after discontinuation of long-term methotrexate therapy. Double-blind study |
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| Authors: | J M Kremer R I Rynes L E Bartholomew |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Maternal and Child Health, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;1. Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA;2. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA;3. College of Pharmacy, Touro University California, Vallejo, CA 94592, USA;4. Graduate Program in Neuroscience, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA;5. Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA;2. Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China |
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| Abstract: | To determine if long-term methotrexate-induced improvement of rheumatoid arthritis is sustained after the drug is discontinued, 10 unselected patients with responses to weekly oral methotrexate given for at least 36 months (mean 40.1) were randomly assigned to receive methotrexate or identical-appearing placebo tablets for two months. After one month, all five patients receiving placebo had to have the study terminated due to a flare of their disease manifested by statistically significant deterioration in multiple clinical parameters. It is concluded that patients receiving long-term methotrexate must continue the drug to maintain clinical benefits. |
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