IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS FOR TREATMENT OF RA (RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS): METHOTREXATE

Rheumatrex

Tablet size: 2.5 mg

Usual dose: two to six pills all on one day per week or in one weekly injection

Effective within: three to eight weeks

Methotrexate was used initially in the 1940s to treat people with leukemia and is still frequently taken in very high doses as an anticancer drug. It later became widely used as treatment for severe psoriasis and a form of arthritis associated with this skin condition. Since the early 1980s its use in the treatment of RA has skyrocketed.

The marked increase in this drug’s popularity for RA treatment has many explanations. First, it becomes effective more rapidly than the other DMARDs: improvement is sometimes noted within two weeks of the first use. Second, it is possibly the most effective medication available. It is as effective as injectable gold or penicillamine, previously believed to be the most effective pharmaceutical treatment for RA. Third, it is very convenient in that it can be taken once a week if tolerated.

*96/209/5*

IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS FOR TREATMENT OF RA (RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS): METHOTREXATERheumatrexTablet size: 2.5 mgUsual dose: two to six pills all on one day per week or in one weekly injection Effective within: three to eight weeksMethotrexate was used initially in the 1940s to treat people with leukemia and is still frequently taken in very high doses as an anticancer drug. It later became widely used as treatment for severe psoriasis and a form of arthritis associated with this skin condition. Since the early 1980s its use in the treatment of RA has skyrocketed.The marked increase in this drug’s popularity for RA treatment has many explanations. First, it becomes effective more rapidly than the other DMARDs: improvement is sometimes noted within two weeks of the first use. Second, it is possibly the most effective medication available. It is as effective as injectable gold or penicillamine, previously believed to be the most effective pharmaceutical treatment for RA. Third, it is very convenient in that it can be taken once a week if tolerated.*96/209/5*

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