Researchers from the University of Leeds in England analysed 542 rheumatoid arthritis patients in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia for two years. All of the patients took methotrexate pills along with a weekly shot of the biologic drug Enbrel; others got a placebo shot, WebMD reported.
The results found that the combination therapy halted progression of the disease in 80 percent of patients, compared with 59 percent who took the generic medicine alone, the study found. About 25 percent of the methotrexate patients at the start of the trial had stopped at least once after one year compared with a tenth in the group taking both the medicines.
Enbrel is marketed in the U.S. by the drug companies Amgen and Wyeth. The drug belongs to a class of drugs that block TNF, a substance linked to inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The medicine, sold by Wyeth, won approval as a therapy for the skin disorder psoriasis in 2004.
Side effects were similar in both groups, according to the researchers.
Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system attacks the joints, causing swelling, pain and damage that can lead to deformity and disability. Nearly 2 million Americans suffer from this bone-crippling disease according to the National Institutes of Health.
The findings were published online Tuesday by the British medical journal The Lancet.
