Concurrent use of folinic acid and methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis

In a double blind placebo controlled crossover study, each arm of 4 weeks' duration, 20 mg of folinic acid/week or placebo were administered to 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These individuals were receiving weekly intramuscular methotrexate (MTX) but were about to discontinue because o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of rheumatology Vol. 15; no. 7; p. 1078
Main Authors Hanrahan, P S, Russell, A S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Canada 01.07.1988
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - blood
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - drug therapy
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - physiopathology
Clinical Trials as Topic
Drug Therapy, Combination
Erythrocyte Volume
Female
Humans
Leucovorin - adverse effects
Leucovorin - therapeutic use
Male
Methotrexate - adverse effects
Methotrexate - therapeutic use
Middle Aged
Severity of Illness Index
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Summary:In a double blind placebo controlled crossover study, each arm of 4 weeks' duration, 20 mg of folinic acid/week or placebo were administered to 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These individuals were receiving weekly intramuscular methotrexate (MTX) but were about to discontinue because of side effects. While there was considerable improvement in nausea during the study, the effect of folinic acid could not be differentiated from that of placebo. There was no adverse effect on control of disease activity. It therefore seems likely that polyglutamated tissue stores of MTX do not contribute to drug efficacy and in this format folinic acid could not be shown to be more useful than placebo in reducing drug induced nausea.
ISSN:0315-162X