Combination therapy proves more effective than

methotrexate alone in new JIA study

Taken from: NRAS magazine, Autumn 2011

A 54 week clinical trial looking at newly diagnosed JIA patients aged 4-15 years, called the ACUTE-JIA trial has shown a big improvement for those on combination therapy, especially those taking the anti-TNF drug infliximab.

The patients were put into 3 groups, all of which were given methotrexate, and their level of improvement was measured by the number of patients whose JIA improved by at least 75%. The most successful group by far was the group taking the drug in combination with infliximab. 100% of the patients in this group showed at least a 75% improvement. This compared to a 65% in those taking the drug in combination with sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine, and only 50% in the group on methotrexate alone.