[Low dosed prednisolone in older patients with rheumatoid arthritis]

Glucocorticoids are used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis since many decades. Glucocorticoids are proven effective in decreasing inflammatory activity of this disease and in retarding the progression of erosive joint damage. However, they also have multiple possible adverse effects, which are depending on dose and duration of treatment. Due to increasing treatment options (i.e. biologic and targeted synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs) the use of glucocorticoids is subject of debate. The GLORIA study recently showed that addition of 5 mg prednisolone during 2 years is an effective treatment strategy in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis, without a substantial risk of adverse events. So, low dose prednisolone remains an attractive treatment option due to its effacacy, ease of use, safety and low cost.