Clinical evaluation of D-penicillamine by multicentric double-blind comparative study in chronic rheumatoid arthritis

In order to evaluate clinical efficacy of D-penicillamine (DP) a double-blind study was conducted by the Metalcaptase Research Group consisting of forty-one rheumatological centers in Japan. A total of 179 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was divided into two groups; one treated with 5 mg (control group) and the other with 100 mg (drug group) of DP in capsule form. The trial lasted 24 weeks. Global judgment by physicians revealed that improvement was found in 27% in the controls and 65% in the drug group. Adverse reactions occurred in 34% of the controls and 49% of the drug group. Skin rashes, taste disturbances, gastrointestinal upset and proteinuria were frequent in the drug group, but severe or fatal reactions could not be seen in this trial.