Ls. Ehrlich et al., A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF HYDROXYUREA FOR THE TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS, Journal of rheumatology, 22(9), 1995, pp. 1646-1650
Objective, To obtain preliminary evidence on the safety and efficacy o
f low dose hydroxyurea as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). M
ethodr. Five patients with active RA unresponsive to conventional ther
apy were entered into a 12 week, open label trial of hydroxyurea follo
wed by a one month postdrug evaluation. Results. Three of the 4 patien
ts completing the study had a decrease in morning stiffness and number
of swollen and tender joints. All 4 patients had a decrease in pain a
nd an increase in function as measured by a modified health assessment
questionnaire. No patient had improvement in sedimentation rate, C-re
active protein, or subjective measures of global well being, However,
3 of the 4 patients had disease flare after the drug was withdrawn, de
monstrated by increased number of swollen and tender joints. Conclusio
n. Low dose hydroxyurea may be effective in the treatment of RA, but c
onfirmation will require further testing by a randomized double blind
placebo controlled trial of patients with a broader spectrum of diseas
e severity over a longer period of therapeutic intervention.