“Combination antibiotics show promise at ameliorating the symptoms of Chlamydia reactive arthritis and eliminating the persistent state of Chlamydia,” Dr. Carter said.
TNF Treatment
A third presentation at the session, given by Walter P. Maksymowych, MD, professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, focused tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibition and structural damage progression in ankylosing spondylitis. He reported that anti-TNF therapy does not seem to show the same positive results in ankylosing spondylitis patients as it does in RA patients. He hypothesized that in individual patients, the effect of anti-TNF therapy on radiographic progression depends on the relative number of acute and mature inflammatory lesions. “Early diagnosis is a prerequisite for advances in disease modification,” he said. the rheumatologist
Vanessa Caceres is a freelance medical writer in Bradenton, Fla.
References
- Lie E, van der Heijde D, Uhlig T, et al. Effectiveness and retention rates of methotrexate in psoriatic arthritis in comparison with methotrexate-treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2010;69:671-676.
- Carter JD, Valeriano J, Vasey FB. Doxycycline versus doxycycline and rifampin in undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy, with special reference to chlamydia-induced arthritis. A prospective, randomized 9-month comparison. J Rheumatol. 2004;31:1973-1980.
- Carter JD, Espinoza LR, Inman RD, et al. Combination antibiotics as a treatment for chronic Chlamydia-induced reactive arthritis: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospective trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2010;62:1298-1307.
