Medico-economic evaluation of infliximab in rheumatoid arthritis--prospective French study of a cohort of 635 patients monitored for two years.

Objectives: To perform, in real conditions of prescription, the medico-economic evaluation of infliximab in severe RA.

Methods: A cost-effectiveness analysis of the annual costs was done with a comparison between the previous and the following year under infliximab. The effectiveness, determined from the HAQ, was expressed in clinically significant units and in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).

Disease status, costs and quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in France: the ECO-PR Study.

Objective: To investigate resource consumption and quality of life (utility) in a sample of patients covering the full spectrum of the disease, modalities of patient management and geographic areas.

Methods: Information on demographics, disease parameters, work capacity and resource consumption (in the past 1, 3 or 12 months depending on the resource) was collected in an anonymous mail survey from all members of a national patient association (ANDAR). Results are presented for the sample and by level of functional capacity, in 2005 euro.

Maintenance and tolerability of infliximab in a cohort of 152 patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To determine the maintenance, tolerability and safety of infliximab in an unselected cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Patients And Methods: One hundred and fifty-two RA patients receiving at least one course of infliximab between 2000 and 2003 were included in this study. Response to treatment and safety were assessed through recording adverse events, physical examinations and standard laboratory tests.

Long-term effects of infliximab on bone and cartilage turnover markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with systemic bone loss, subchondral bone erosion and cartilage degradation under the control of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha). Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that administration of infliximab, an anti-TNFalpha drug in the treatment of RA, would modulate systemic and local bone resorption and reduce cartilage degradation.

Methods: We performed a prospective study of a multicentric cohort of 48 women, mean (SD) age 54.

[Monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: toward a therapeutic revolution].

The progress of immunopathology allowed the development of targeted drugs or biotherapies. Among them, monoclonal antibodies against T or B lymphocytes or against a cytokine are reported. Monoclonal anti-TNF antibodies are a major therapeutic advance because they can stop the clinical, biological and radiographic evolution of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).