Inpharma 1448 - 31 Jul 2004

■ Daily maintenance doses of leflunomide 10mg,compared with 20mg, are inferior in the treatment ofpatients with active rheumatoid arthritis, reportresearchers from Hungary and the US. Theirmulticentre double-blind study involved 402 patientswho were randomised to receive a loading dose oforal leflunomide 100mg on days 1–3 followed by asingle dose of 10 or 20mg every day for 24 weeks.*Criteria for noninferiority of the leflunomide 10mgdose, compared with the leflunomide 20mg dose,were not satisfied in the tender joint count and HealthAssessment Questionnaire Disability Index following6 months of treatment. However, efficacy was notsignificantly different between the doses for swollenjoint count.* The study was funded by Aventis Pharma, Paris, with whom oneof the researchers was affiliated.

Poor G, et al. Efficacy and safety of leflunomide 10 mg versus 20 mg oncedaily in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: multinational double-blind,randomized trial. Rheumatology 43: 744-749, No. 6, Jun 2004 800982410

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