New from NCP
19 April 2006
Combination therapy improves rheumatoid arthritis symptoms
A rheumatologist proposes an improved treatment policy for people with early rheumatoid arthritis in the May issue Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology. He recommends a combination drug therapy for early rheumatoid arthritis if symptoms can't be alleviated with the usual treatment, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
John Kirwan comments on the largest study to date to find improvement in the symptoms of early rheumatoid arthritis after 2 years of this combination therapy. Patients took a low-dose glucocorticoid, prednisolone, in combination with routine medications called DMARDs (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs). Low-dose glucocorticoids are the only drugs that can stop the joint destruction caused by rheumatoid arthritis, whereas other treatments can only slow the damage.
Glucocorticoid drugs are often shunned because of side effects, like osteoporosis (fragile bones), in people who took high doses of these drugs in the past. Kirwan notes that a low dose of prednisolone does not appear to cause osteoporosis, at least during only 2 years of treatment.
Author contact:
John Kirwan (University of Bristol, UK)
Tel: +44 117 928 2904, E-mail: john.kirwan@bristol.ac.uk
Editor contact:
Emma Campbell, (Editor, Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology)
Tel: +44 207 843 3695, E-mail: e.campbell@nature.com
The Nature Clinical Practice journals:
The first four journals launched in November 2004 and a further four in November 2005. This is NPG's most extensive launch programme and the Nature Clinical Practice series is due to extend to 15 titles over the next few years.
Each month the journals filter original research in their field, highlighting the most important research articles, then explaining how the research affects patients' treatments. Content also includes editorial and opinion pieces, highlights from the current literature, commentaries on the application of recent research to practical patient care, thorough reviews, and in-depth case studies.
