Source: DGNews  |  Posted 9 years ago

By Rabiya S. Tuma

NEW ORLEANS, LA -- October 28, 2002 -- Small increases in the dose of methotrexate, a standard treatment for juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), substantially improve patient response rates, according to data from a randomised, multinational trial.

Dr. Nicolino Ruperto, of the University of Pavia, in Pavia, Italy, presented the study here October 26 at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) meeting here on behalf of the Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization, based in Genova, Italy.

The trial enrolled 633 patients, ages 2 to 18, who were recently diagnosed with JIA in a clinical trial designed to test whether patients who are refractory to the standard methotrexate dose of 12 mg/m