ROME -- Cutting rheumatoid arthritis patients' etanercept (Enbrel) doses in half after they achieved remission cut adverse and treatment costs dramatically without compromising the clinical effectiveness of maintenance therapy, a researcher reported here.
In a prospective, controlled study, disease activity remained low in 81.6% of patients put on low-dose etanercept (25 mg once weekly) for a mean of 2.6 years after achieving remission on the standard dose (25 mg twice weekly) -- virtually the same rate as in patients maintained without dose reduction.
At the same time, infection rates were reduced significantly, according to Bernd Raffeiner, MD, of the University of Padova in Italy, who presented the findings at a platform presentation here at the European League Against Rheumatism annual meeting.
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