Interferon doesn't help with rheumatoid arthritis

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A clinical trial shows that interferon beta does not improve the condition of those with rheumatoid arthritis.
Interferon beta is a proven treatment for multiple sclerosis, and it's hoped it might have some other applications. Pre-clinical tests suggested that interferon might be useful for rheumatoid arthritis. But, so far, it looks as if it doesn't work in human clinical trials.

Researchers at Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, looked at a group of 209 patients - assigning them to interferon or placebo for 24 weeks. All the patients had been treated with methotrexate - a standard medication for rheumatoid arthritis - for six months before the trial. At the end of the study there were no changes in either group or any differences between them - so we have to conclude that interferon beta does not help in rheumatoid arthritis. Maybe more frequent injections, higher doses or different formulations could produce an improvement, however. This will have to be the subject of further research.

Source
Annals of Rheumatic Diseases January 2005 Volume 64 pages 64-69

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