Children with arthritis - a condition known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) - who aren’t helped by conventional treatments may benefit from one of the newer anti-arthritis drugs, Remicade.

Repeated infusions of Remicade, known generically as infliximab, along with methotrexate led to “clinically impressive” results, according to Italian researchers.

In the medical journal Arthritis and Rheumatism, Dr. Valeria Gerloni and colleagues from Istituto G. Pini, Milan, report on a trial of Remicade in 24 young people with JIA. They were given a starting dose of the drug, two more after two and six weeks, and then a dose every 8 weeks thereafter.

All patients were also given weekly injections of methotrexate.

Following the first infusion of infliximab, most of the patients were in “better general condition,” the authors observe. They reported significantly less pain and morning stiffness and had more energy.

However, 12 patients had one or more adverse events, which occurred mainly during infusions and were “usually not serious,” according to the team

The number of joints with active disease fell significantly from an average of 6 at baseline, to 2 at two weeks. By six months and one year, the figure had dropped to zero.

“Despite the fact that this was a very severely affected group of patients,” the team points out that one third “did not have joints with active disease at the last visit.”

The researchers call for further studies, but conclude that Remicade treatment “showed high effectiveness and safety in short and medium-term treatment.”

SOURCE: Arthritis and Rheumatism, February 2005.