Combination therapy reduces symptoms and joint erosion in rheumatoid arthritis

The combination of etanercept (a drug that blocks tumour necrosis factor) and methotrexate achieves significantly greater reduction in symptoms and joint erosion than either drug used alone, a trial published in the Lancet last week has found.

The study randomised 686 participants with active, adult onset, rheumatoid arthritis to etanercept (25 mg subcutaneously twice a week) or oral methotrexate (up to 20 mg every week), or a combination of both drugs.

The mean age of the participants was about 53 years, with mean disease duration of 6.3 to 6.8 years (range 6 months to 20 years). All participants …