Methotrexate Versus Combination Methotrexate and Etanercept for Rheumatoid Arthritis

作者：Aarat M. Patel, L. Moreland · 发表于：Current Rheumatology Reports · 年份：2009 · DOI：10.1007/s11926-009-0055-8 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Medicine

Some rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients still experience disability despite newer targeted therapies. Early aggressive treatment combinations can improve outcomes by inducing remission, including halting radiographic progression and preventing joint damage. Biologic agents have made clinical remission a realistic goal for early R A and now a primary end point in most clinical trials. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) alone may not stop radiographic progression of disease in all patients. Previous studies have shown that combining DMARDs such as methotrexate (MTX) with biologic agents can prevent joint damage by stopping structural progression in some patients.