A new study has found that a combination of two drugs, Enbrel and methotrexate, halts progression of joint damage when given to patients in the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis.

Enbrel, introduced in 1998, is marketed in the US by the drug companies Amgen and Wyeth. The drug was the world’s fifth best-selling drug last year with $5.3 billion in sales.

Researchers from the University of Leeds in England analyzed 542 rheumatoid arthritis patients in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia for two years. The patients were given methotrexate, considered a cornerstone of rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Some of the patients got weekly shots of the biologic drug Enbrel while others got a placebo shot.

The study found that the combination Enbrel plus methotrexate halted progression of rheumatoid arthritis in 80 percent of patients, compared with 59 percent who took methotrexate alone. Also, 61 percent of patients given the combination experienced better functionality compared with 44 percent of those given only methotrexate.

“It's important for people living with a chronic disease, like moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, to be able to continue with their daily life activities. These data show that if patients receive combination treatment early, they are more likely to be able to continue with their daily activities, including going to work, than those treated with methotrexate alone,” said Paul Emery, a professor of rheumatology at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom who was involved in the study, CNN Money reports.

The patients in both groups experienced similar side effects, the researchers noted in the online July 15 issue of The Lancet. However, the long-term side effects of the combination should be further studied, according to editorialist Joel Kremer, MD, of the Center for Rheumatology at Albany Medical College in Albany, N.Y.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease caused by a malfunctioning immune system. How can you recognize arthritis? Well if you feel pain and stiffness in your body or have trouble moving around, you might have arthritis. Most kinds of arthritis cause pain and swelling in your joints. Over time, a swollen joint becomes severely damaged, but the negative impact on your body doesn’t end here, as some kinds of arthritis can also cause problems in your organs, such as your eyes or skin.

Forty-six million Americans suffer from some form of arthritis, which is the most common cause of disability in the US, limiting the activities of nearly 19 million adults.