Learn more: PMC Disclaimer | PMC Copyright Notice
D-penicillamine withdrawal in rheumatoid arthritis.
Abstract
Thirty-eight patients with rheumatoid arthritis in remission on penicillamine were entered into a prospective, randomised, placebo controlled study to determine the effects of gradual penicillamine withdrawal, to find a serological marker capable of predicting relapse, and to assess the effects of reintroduction of penicillamine. 80% of patients attempting gradual penicillamine withdrawal flared. There was no single serological marker capable of predicting outcome consistently. Decreasing SH levels were highly specific for recurrence of active synovitis but were insensitive. Reintroduction of penicillamine was successful. The implications of these findings, particularly concerning duration of therapy with disease modifying drugs, are discussed.
Full text
Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (807K), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Jaffe IA. D-penicillamine. Bull Rheum Dis. 1977;28(6):948–952. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Baum J. The use of penicillamine in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma. Scand J Rheumatol Suppl. 1979;(28):65–70. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Camp AV. Hematologic toxicity from penicillamine in rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol Suppl. 1981 Jan-Feb;7:164–165. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hill HF, Hill AG, Day AT, Brown RM, Golding JR, Lyle WH. Maintenance dose of penicillamine in rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison between a standard and a response-related flexible regimen. Ann Rheum Dis. 1979 Oct;38(5):429–433. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- ROPES MW, BENNETT GA, COBB S, JACOX R, JESSAR RA. 1958 Revision of diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. Bull Rheum Dis. 1958 Dec;9(4):175–176. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pinals RS, Masi AT, Larsen RA. Preliminary criteria for clinical remission in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1981 Oct;24(10):1308–1315. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Harkness J. The viscosity of human blood plasma; its measurement in health and disease. Biorheology. 1971 Dec;8(3):171–193. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- ELLMAN GL. Tissue sulfhydryl groups. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1959 May;82(1):70–77. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rothermich NO, Philips VK, Bergen W, Thomas MH. Chrysotherapy. A prospective study. Arthritis Rheum. 1976 Nov-Dec;19(6):1321–1327. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]