Fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis: quantitative findings on the efficacy of tocilizumab and on factors associated with fatigue. The French multicentre prospective PEPS Study.

Objectives: Fatigue is an important aspect of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The objective was to assess fatigue levels and its determinants over the first 4 months of tocilizumab (TCZ) treatment in RA patients.

Methods: We performed a multicentre prospective study of RA patients treated with intravenous TCZ in open-label prescription conditions.

The effect of tocilizumab on bone mineral density, serum levels of Dickkopf-1 and bone remodeling markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Unlabelled: Previous studies showed that the control of inflammation by biological therapies has a positive effect on bone in inflammatory diseases. The objective of this study was to assess the effects on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone remodeling of an anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody (tocilizumab (TCZ)) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: One hundred and three patients (75% women, 52±12years) with active RA were treated with TCZ 8mg/kg + methotrexate (MTX) every 4 weeks during 48 weeks.

Relative importance of doctor-reported outcomes vs patient-reported outcomes in DMARD intensification for rheumatoid arthritis: the DUO study.

Objective: For optimal RA management, the current recommendation is to adapt DMARD therapy to the level of inflammation and not only of patient complaints. We designed the DUO (epidemiological study of treatment decison in RA: DROs and PROs) study to assess the relative weight of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and doctor-reported outcomes (DROs) in DMARD intensification in RA patients.

Methods: This French, observational, multicentre, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2009 on RA patients included by rheumatologists.

[Methodology and quality control in EPIGRAM, a pharmacoepidemiological study of obesity in general practice].

The EPIGRAM pharmacoepidemiological study was conducted in general practitioners prescribing orlistat (Xenical) in order to describe, under real clinical conditions, the management of obese or overweight patients. A 1-year follow-up of a patient cohort treated with orlistat was also conducted. Quality criteria specific to the study were defined to ensure the scientific validity of the results; these criteria mainly involved the following items: independent scientific committee, sampling investigator's recruitment, study organisation and quality control of the collected data.