Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 2, 2026
Erosion Identification in Metacarpophalangeal Joints in Rheumatoid Arthritis using High-Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography
Published on: October 6, 2023
Radiographic progression in early rheumatoid arthritis: a 12-month randomized controlled study comparing the
A Marchesoni1, N Battafarano, M Arreghini
1Rheumatology Department, University of Milan, Italy. marchesoni@gpini.it
Objective:
To determine whether patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with cyclosporin A (CsA) and methotrexate (MTX) in combination for 12 months show a lower rate of radiographic deterioration than those treated with MTX alone.
Methods:
In this controlled and randomized single-blind trial, 61 consecutive patients with untreated RA of less than 2 yr duration were treated with either CsA + MTX combination therapy (n = 30) or MTX alone (n = 31). The primary end-point was radiographic progression after 12 months, measured using the damage score (DS) of the Sharp and van der Heijde method.
Results:
Although there was a significant difference between the mean baseline and 12-month DS in both treatment groups (MTX/CsA, 1.93 +/- 0.90; MTX, 7.47 +/- 2.03), it was significantly less in the combination arm (P = 0.018). Of the 30 evaluable CsA + MTX patients, 16 (53%) were ACR20 responders, 15 (50%) ACR50 and 14 (47%) ACR70; the corresponding figures in the MTX arm were 19 (61%), 13 (44%) and 6 (19%). Toxicity was acceptable in both groups.
Conclusions:
In patients with early RA, CsA + MTX combination therapy led to a significantly lower rate of 12-month radiographic progression, was effective on inflammatory articular symptoms, and was well tolerated.
