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Modified-Release Prednisone Reduces Morning Stiffness In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis (Capra-1 Trial)

Main Category: Arthritis
Article Date: 21 Jan 2008 - 2:00 PST

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It was supposed to release slightly during the day, but it was giving me about 10 times more than it should and i was horribly sick.

My niece had the birth control patch and got horribly sick because it released wrong on her too.

These things scare me.

Almost every Dr told me to take the Pred in the morning. I found that if I take it after dinner I feel so much better in the AMThis information was in today's on-line newsletter from about.com:

Lodotra: Modified-Release Prednisone for Rheumatoid Arthritis

patients were found to experience less morning stiffness. Night-time levels of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 are elevated in rheumatoid arthritis, causing extreme pain and joint stiffness after waking. It has been previously established that morning stiffness can be helped with prednisone administered at 2 a.m. but that's terrribly inconvenient for most people. Lodotra is an oral medication that releases prednisone from the tablet core about 4 hours after it is taken. Taking Lodotra at 10 p.m. would result in release of the medication at 2 a.m. -- more effective in treating morning stiffness associated with rheumatoid arthritis, researchers claim.

According to the January 19th issue of The Lancet, 288 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis were evaluated in a 12-week study that compared modified-release with immediate-release prednisone.

  • After 12 weeks, patients taking the modified-release prednisone experienced 44 minutes less morning stiffness than at the beginning of the study -- 29.2 minutes less than those taking the standard version.
  • A 12-month study reported at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology also yielded positive results with patients having 50 percent less morning stiffness.

Lodotra successfully completed Phase III trials in Europe in 2006 and marketing approval was requested in 15 European countries. In the United States, Lodotra is in development. A second phase III study planned for the second quarter of 2008 will include about 300 patients in the United States and Europe.

watchingwolf39470.8758796296

[QUOTE=6t5frlane]Almost every Dr told me to take the Pred in the morning. I found that if I take it after dinner I feel so much better in the AM[/QUOTE]

Doctors never told me when to take the pred, except that one time when I was told to take 5mg at night and 5mg in the morning.

I have always took pred at night before I go to sleep. I realized a LONG time ago... that it helps greatly with the morning stiffness and making getting outta bed a little easier.

But there is a draw back... for me it starts to wear off at 6pm and then I have to go 9 hours before I can take my next dose. During those 9 hours... I am swelling, increased pain, and stiffness is a bitch. I tend to gel faster during that time period too.
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