For Release at 1:30 PM, Sunday Nov. 14
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Etanercept Is Effective in Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
Etanercept, a soluble TNF-alpha receptor approved last year for adult rheumatoid arthritis, is safe and effective for treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), according to research presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting Nov. 13--17 in Boston, Mass.
"In the open-label extension trial, improvements were regained by patients whose conditions had deteriorated after switching to placebo," said lead investigator Daniel Lovell, MD, MPH, of the Pediatric Rheumatology Collaborative Study Group in Cincinnati, Ohio, "whereas responses were sustained by patients who received etanercept throughout the study."
JRA is the most common rheumatic disease of childhood and is a significant cause of disability in children in the United States. As many as 50,000 children under the age of 16 are affected in the United States. Etanercept was approved by the FDA for treatment of adult rheumatoid arthritis a year ago.
The 12-month study began as an open-label trial with 69 patients with polyarticular JRA, 74 percent of whom met the response criteria after three months. Those who responded were randomized to continue etanercept treatment or to receive placebo in a blinded trial, the second part of the study. The response rate of those receiving etanercept dipped slightly; the rate for those on placebo dipped significantly. Fifty-nine patients enrolled in the third part of the study, another open-label trial. Patients who had been on placebo during the second part of the study regained their improvement when etanercept treatment was restored.
The American College of Rheumatology is the professional organization for rheumatologists and health professionals who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability and curing arthritis and related rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. For more information on the ACR's annual meeting, see http://www.rheumatology.org.
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