Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2010 Sep-Oct;28(5 Suppl 61):S52-7.
Epub 2010 Oct 28.

Drug combinations with methotrexate to treat rheumatoid arthritis

T Rath  1 , A Rubbert
Affiliations
  • PMID: 21044434
Review

Drug combinations with methotrexate to treat rheumatoid arthritis

T Rath et al. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2010 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

MTX is still considered the anchor drug among the disease-modifying antirheumatic agents, and it is widely accepted as first line treatment in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The ultimate therapeutic goal in treatment of RA is remission or at least low disease activity and this goal may not always be achieved with MTX monotherapy. Over the last two decades drug combinations based on MTX have been used increasingly to treat patients with RA. Combination DMARD therapy may be used initially or in a step-up strategy after MTX monotherapy in patients with persistently active disease on monotherapy. Many different MTX based combination regimens have been studied. Frequently used combinations on an MTX background include leflunomide, cyclosporine, azathioprine, sulfasalazine, gold and hydroxychloroquine. In conclusion, the use of MTX in combination with other DMARDs may still represent a valuable therapeutic option in patients who fail to DMARD monotherapy or in whom combination therapy is considered initially. However, in patients at risk for rapid radiographic progression, the early use of biologics has to be considered.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources