Information for Medical Professionals

Idiopathic arthritis relapse not linked to drug treatment duration

Increasing the length of time a person takes drugs for during the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis does not reduce the relapse rate for the condition, it has been claimed.

According to new research conducted by Dirk Foell, an orthopaedic specialist at the University of Muenster, Germany, the drug methotrexate does not have a positive impact on the likelihood a person suffering from the condition will relapse if treatment is extended.

Looking at 354 patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, who were recruited from 61 centres in 29 countries, the researchers also noted that the risk of the condition flaring-up may be related to the biomarker myeloid-related protein (MPR) 8 and 14.

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the German research showed that the relapse rate for juvenile idiopathic arthritis was 55.6 per cent after six months of methotrexate treatment and 56.7 per cent after 24 months.

"Levels of MRP 8/14 during remission were significantly higher in patients who subsequently developed flares compared with patients maintaining stable remission," they added.

Recent research published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases showed that a gene previously linked to the inflammatory process, rs20417, could help prevent joint damage caused by osteoarthritis progression.

---

<< Back

News provided by Adfero in collaboration with Biomet. Please note that all copy is (c) Adfero Ltd and does not reflect the views or opinions of Biomet unless explicitly stated.