Two studies suggest that a new drug offers temporary relief from the pain of rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic, debilitating joint disease.
Experts called the findings an exciting step forward, but far from a cure. Larger studies are necessary to demonstrate that the drug is truly effective and does not have dangerous side effects.The drug, made by Centocor, is an antibody that blocks TNF-alpha, a chemical thought to spur swelling, pain and cartilage destruction.
A major drawback of the new drug is that it must be given intravenously. Researchers hope to design an effective pill that patients can take to ease pain.
"This is something more hopeful than we've seen for a long time," said Dr. Ravinder N. Maini of the Kennedy Institute at Charing Cross Hospital in London, who led a team that conducted the studies.
The results of the studies are to be published in Saturday's issue of The Lancet, a medical journal.
Rheumatoid arthritis strikes about one person in a hundred. The most susceptible people are women about age 40. Patients suffer from morning stiffness and joint pain, particularly in their hands and wrists. The cause of the ailment is unknown.
"The response rate was very striking for this tough group of patients," said Dr. Michael Lockshin, a scientist at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in Bethesda, Md.
"While this particular product is not going to be practical for long-term care, additional research into the mechanisms of response is likely to give us something important in the future," he said.
In one study, investigators divided 73 rheumatoid arthritis patients between ages 18 and 75 into three groups. One group got a high dose of the drug, the second got a low dose and the rest got placebos. The patients were recruited from four centers in Britain, Germany, Austria and the United States.
After four weeks, 19 of 24 patients in the high-dose group felt better, compared with 11 of 25 patients in the low-dose group and only two of 24 patients in the placebo group.
Maini said patients getting the high dose - 10 milligrams per 2.2 pounds of body weight - improved by 60 percent.