A New Chance to Maintain Remission Induced by Anti-TNF Agents in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: CynAR Study II of a 12-Month Follow-up

• Published in: International journal of immunopathology and pharmacology 2011-01, Vol.24 (1), p.167-174
• Main Authors: Migliore, A., Bizzi, E., Massafra, U., Vacca, F., Martin, L.S. Martin, Ferlito, C., Podestà, E., Granata, M., Laganà, B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - drug therapy; Cyclosporine - administration & dosage; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Male; Methotrexate - administration & dosage; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - antagonists & inhibitors
• ISSN: 0394-6320; 2058-7384
• DOI: 10.1177/039463201102400119

The advent of biological therapies represented the beginning of a new era in the therapy of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), as demonstrated in several studies, but still many questions about their safety, especially in long term use, and correct administration time remain unanswered. Once remission is achieved, the orientation of clinicians regarding the maintenance of biological therapy or the switch to another immunosuppressive therapy is still uncertain. In our previous study 21 patients affected by RA who reached remission by the use of a combined therapy of anti-TNF drugs and methotrexate (MTX) underwent CyA-MTX combination therapy for maintaining remission state and were evaluated during a 6-month follow-up. The present study aims to investigate these data by a longer follow-up (12 months) and on a larger population. Fifty-three RA patients, with a disease duration of less than 3 years and DAS28