What is rheumatoid arthritis and what is methotrexate?
When you have rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system, which normally fights infection, attacks the lining of your joints. This makes your joints swollen, stiff and painful. The small joints of your hands and feet are usually affected first. There is no cure for RA at present, so the treatments aim to relieve pain and stiffness and improve your ability to move. Drugs such as methotrexate also aim to help prevent permanent damage to your joints that can happen if RA is not treated. Methotrexate is a Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug (DMARD). Methotrexate may treat rheumatoid arthritis by decreasing the activity of the immune system. Methotrexate is a common treatment for RA and may be prescribed in combination with other drugs, especially in people who are not improving on methotrexate alone. DMARDs like methotrexate come as tablets, capsules and, in some cases, injections. What the research says There is probably little or no difference in symptoms of RA when taking methotrexate i
Related Questions
- Are glucocorticoids a consistent risk factor for infections in rheumatoid arthritis patients under treatment with methotrexate and etanercept?
- Will pharmacogenetics allow better prediction of methotrexate toxicity and efficacy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis?
- Is there a difference between Arava and competitor methotrexate to treat rheumatoid arthritis?
