Remission: the goal of rheumatic disease therapy

This international symposium is devoted to a discussion of the potential remission-inducing properties of an exciting new agent: auranofin (AF). The definition of remission, however, remains imprecise--meaning "cure" to some and various degrees of improvement to others. The proposed parameters of the ARA Committee for Criteria of Remission in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), are compared to physicians' global estimate of disease activity from the ARAMIS (American Rheumatism Association Medical Information System) national rheumatic disease data bank. We report which parameters have corresponded most closely to the suggested criteria for remission of RA. Through such analysis we may be better able to define remission and to determine which patients experience remission during a particular course of therapy.