Early Treatment With Infliximab And Methotrex For Rheumatoid Arthritis Has Led To 1/5 Of Patients In Drug-Free Remission

Early treatment with a combination of methotrexate and infliximab may be effective as remission induction therapy and alter the course of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to data presented at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain.



At four year follow up, over half (51%) of the patients who started treatment with a combination of methotrexate and infliximab in the BeSt ('Behandel-Strategie?«n' or 'treatment strategies') trial had been able to discontinue treatment with infliximab and maintained a good response (Disease Activity Score (DAS) ?‰¤2.4). 41 patients were still taking methotrexate monotherapy at trial end. Almost one in five (17%) of patients had reached clinical remission (DAS