However, the study presenter, Carol A. Wallace, MD, professor of pediatrics and chief of pediatric rheumatology at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Research Institute, said they used a “very stringent” definition of inactive disease. She called “remarkable” that one-third of the 85 patients overall had clinically inactive disease at six months, and 14% had clinical remission due to medications.
Dr. Wallace concluded, “The earlier after disease onset that the patient started treatment, the likelihood of achieving inactive disease by six months increased logarithmically.”
This study was published in Arthritis & Rheumatism.2 Dr. Wallace reports receiving research grants from the National Institutes of Health, Pfizer, and Amgen, and consulting fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Kathleen Louden is a medical writer based in the Chicago area.
References
- Mukerjee D, St George D, Knight C, et al. Echocardiography and pulmonary function as screening tests for pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis. Rheumatology. 2004;43:461-466.
- Wallace CA, Giannini EH, Spalding SJ, et al, for the Childhood Arthritis Rheumatology Research Alliance. Trial of early aggressive therapy in polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis [published online ahead of print December 19, 2011]. Arthritis Rheum. doi: 10.1002/art.34343.
