The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7254 p851
21 June 2003

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Arthritis patients showing consistent improvements

Patients who have rheumatoid arthritis have experienced consistent improvements in their condition since the mid-1990s, researchers report. This is likely to be due to early aggressive treatment and the introduction of biological therapies, they say.

Rheumatologists in Norway surveyed a sample of 1,600 patients at three time points over a seven-year period from 1994 to 2001. Using three different health status measures, they found that the physical disability of patients significantly and consistently lessened during this time. The study results, presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology earlier this week in Lisbon, suggest that biological therapies, which became available during this period, are having an impact on the disease.

However, the researchers point out that it is not only the use of new drugs that has resulted in improvements. Drugs that have been established treatments for many years, when given appropriately, are still effective, they say. Dr Till Uhlig, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, who presented the data, told conference participants that aggressive treatment from the onset of the disease produced better results. "Better disease management gives the impression that rheumatoid arthritis has become less of a problem," he said.

He predicted that quality of life for patients with rheumatoid arthritis would continue to improve with increasing use of biological therapies.

Professor Paul Emery, department of rheumatology, University of Leeds, echoed the view that patients should be treated early in their disease. However, he said that guidelines for treating bone and joint disorders are badly needed and that many patients in the United Kingdom are still not receiving the treatment they require. "Treating patients early in their disease works and should be implemented on a country-wide basis," he said.