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.
