[Current status of basic antirheumatic therapy]

Basic treatment of inflammatory rheumatic diseases is effective, but not necessarily remission-inducing. Its mechanisms of action are only partly understood, and the reasons for the variations in response rate of between 40 and 80% are also unknown. The original concept of starting with the least toxic of these substances, and then only after the failure of treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, has now been abandoned. Taking compliance as a measure of therapeutic value, among the most important of the substances employed, methotrexate is the most, oral gold the least, favorable, while azathioprine, sulfasalazine, antimalarial agents and D-penicillamine do not differ significantly from another.