Latest rheumatoid arthritis drugs compared

RA is a chronic, debilitating, inflammatory disease of the joints, which is usually treated with anti-inflammatory drugs such as methotrexate or steroids. However, the discovery that a protein from white blood cells, known as tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), caused some of the symptoms of RA, led to the development of novel drugs which block TNFα. This group of drugs, known as anti-TNFα drugs (which include infliximab, etanercept and adalimumab), are now commonly used to treat RA.

However, there have been no 'head-to-head' comparisons of the new anti-TNFα drugs in terms of safety or efficacy for the treatment of RA.

Alberto Alonso-Ruiz of the Cruces Hospital in Barakaldo, Vizcaya, Spain and colleagues at the Donostia Hospital and the University of the Basque Country, systematically searched for research on the use of anti-TNFα drugs in RA patients. They found thirteen clinical trials including over 7000 patients. The researchers then analyzed the trial results, systematically logging patient benefits and side effects for different doses of the three main anti-TNFα drugs.

Analysis of the combined results of all thirteen trials showed that anti-TNFα drugs, given at recommended doses, were better than the usual treatments, such as methotrexate, for treating RA. Patients who had previously seen little benefit from methotrexate alone showed a better response with combined anti-TNFα plus methotrexate therapy.

The team found that all three drugs were very similar in their benefits even at doses higher than those recommended by the drug manufacturer. This class of drugs, while very effective, does have a higher frequency of adverse side-effects. Patients on infliximab were most likely to drop out of a trial because of these side effects. In contrast, patients using etanercept had the lowest withdrawal rate. The researchers point out that this could be because this drug was not reported as being used at higher than recommended dosage in the trials.

“Anti-TNFα drugs such as infliximab, adalimumab and etanercept all appear to be effective in the treatment of RA” said Alonso-Ruiz. “Performing comparisons of new drugs is vital for measuring safety/efficacy relationships and monitoring adverse side-effects”

Source: BioMed Central

'Stuffy nose' mouse: A promise to help treat 31 million with sinusitis
Mice with inflamed nasal tissue being tested at a Johns Hopkins laboratory may be unable to tell if something smells bad or good, but their sensory deficit is nothing to turn up a nose at.
Nanomaterials Key to New Strategies for Blocking Metastasis
A new treatment strategy using targeted nanoparticles to block metastasis with anti-cancer drugs leads to good results using significantly lower doses of toxic chemotherapy, with less collateral damage to surrounding tissue, according to a collaborative team of researchers at the Center of Nanotechnology for Treatment, Understanding, and Monitoring of Cancer at the University of California, San Diego. In designing this system, the investigators, led by David Cheresh, Ph.D., have identified what may become a generic method for using nanotechnology to target metastasis.
Protein predicts Gleevec resistance in gastrointestinal tumors
Excess amounts of a protein called IGF-1R in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) could indicate that the patient would be less responsive to the drug imatinib mesylate (known as Gleevec), according to Andrew K. Godwin, Ph.D., a researcher at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
New molecule could be key to anti-heart attack drug
When too many blood platelets stick together in the bloodstream, they form dangerous clots that can clog blood vessels and cause a heart attack. If a clot doesn’t get dissolved or rapidly removed, it can cause permanent damage or even death. But new research by Rockefeller University scientists suggests that it should be possible to create a clot-busting pill that targets a receptor on the blood cells’ surface, something that high-risk patients could take at the first sign of chest pain.
Arthritis medications reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes
Patients prescribed drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis could be at a reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to a study published today in the open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy.
Anti-HIV therapy boosts life expectancy more than 13 years
The life expectancy for patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has increased by more than 13 years since the late 1990s thanks to advancements in antiretroviral therapy, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Lancet study blasts Swiss stance on HIV protection
Doctors have unleashed a counterblast to a Swiss panel that said patients with HIV whose infection is curbed by drugs do not pass on the AIDS virus during unprotected sex.
Researchers disprove long-standing belief about HIV treatment
Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have disproved a long-standing clinical belief that the hepatitis C virus slows or stunts the immune system's ability to restore itself after HIV patients are treated with a combination of drugs known as the "cocktail."

Latest rheumatoid arthritis drugs compared

Related stories:

News discussion: