Risks and benefits of low-dosage cyclosporin in rheumatoid arthritis

The effects of cyclosporin on the activity of rheumatoid arthritis have mainly been investigated in patients with active, refractory, long-standing disease. The data obtained in these trials suggest that cyclosporin is not only a symptomatic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis but can also be considered a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), since it seems to be capable of slowing the progression of cartilage and bone damage due to rheumatoid arthritis. The trials conducted so far have led to a better understanding of cyclosporin toxicity and, therefore, to better monitoring of patients in order to avoid it. The reasons for studying the role of cyclosporin in patients with early, active and potentially severe rheumatoid arthritis are the poor prognosis of the disease despite the use of the presently available DMARDs, and the hypothesis that the drug is more efficacious and better tolerated in early rheumatoid arthritis. A new classification of antirheumatic drugs proposes that disease-controlling antirheumatic therapies decrease inflammatory synovitis and prevent structural joint damage or significantly reduce its rate of progression. However, few existing drugs meet these criteria. The 12-month results of a disease-controlling antirheumatic therapy clinical trial with a blinded radiological end-point, named GRISAR (Gruppo Reumatologi Italiani Studio Artrite Reumatoide) comparing cyclosporin with conventional DMARDs in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis provide strong evidence that cyclosporin offers better control of ongoing joint damage than do conventional DMARDs.