Kids with arthritis benefit from early treatment

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In children with arthritis, the time from diagnosis to the start of treatment with methotrexate appears to be an important predictor of their response to the drug at 6 months, Dutch investigators report.

“Our results suggest that earlier initiation of methotrexate treatment will lead to an increased response,” Dr. R. ten Cate, at Leiden University Medical Center, and colleagues report in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

So-called juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or JIA, strikes before the age of 16, causing pain, inflammation and cell damage in the lining of the joints. The disease may have a variety of symptoms and degree of severity. The cause of disease is not known but it is thought to be related to genetic and environmental factors.

In a look-back at 128 children with JIA, Dr. ten Cate’s group found that the overall response rate after 6 months of methotrexate treatment was 57 percent.

They also found that responders started methotrexate earlier and had worse symptoms than nonresponders. Even after analyzing the effect of prior treatments, such as steroids or sulfasalazine, earlier time to initiation of methotrexate was still significantly associated with response.

The researchers theorize that methotrexate can suppress early stages of inflammation in JIA and that the mechanism of action is less sufficient to control well-established chronic inflammation.

They call for further research “to determine if an increased early response leads to less joint damage in the long term.”

SOURCE: Arthritis and Rheumatism, January 15, 2009.

Source

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Posts:


By David Douglas NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although many children with so-called juvenile idiopathic arthritis have a low level of disease, about one in five have moderate to severe disability, Italian researchers report. “These findings,” Dr. Angelo Ravelli told Reuters Health, “underscore the critical need for treatments and treatment strategies that have the ability to better

Full Post: Kids with arthritis often disabled
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Michelle Rizzo NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Physical activity levels are low in adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and this appears to be unrelated to disease activity, study findings in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism indicate. “The beneficial effects of physical activity on normal growth and development of children and adolescents have been widely recognized,” write

Full Post: Juvenile arthritis teens less physically active
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Researchers in Australia have designed a drug which appears effective in treating arthritis in mice, and they hope it can be used to treat diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus in people. In an article published in Immunology and Cell Biology, the scientists said they zeroed in on a certain human receptor,

Full Post: New inhibitor drug seen for arthritis, lupus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The immune-modulating drug leflunomide is effective as co-therapy with drugs that block the inflammation-producing protein TNF in people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a report published this month. Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, occurs when the immune system attacks the tissues that line the joints, leading to pain, inflammation and deformity. Rheumatoid

Full Post: Leflunomide effective as co-therapy in RA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - A drug used to suppress the immune system in cancer and rheumatoid arthritis has helped extend the life of a Minnesota boy struggling with a rare and deadly form of the genetic disorder Pompe disease. A team of researchers led by Dr. Nancy Mendelsohn of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Full Post: New therapy helps boy with rare disease

Site Navigation

Most Read

Search

Contact

  • kinwrite.com@gmail.com