Effects of psychosocial factors on monitoring treatment effect in newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis patients over time: response data from the tREACH study.

Objectives: To investigate whether, apart from effects of patient- and disease-related factors, psychosocial factors have additional effects on disease activity; and which factors are most influential during the first year of treatment in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Method: The study assessed 15 month follow-up data from patients in tREACH, a randomized clinical trial comparing initial triple disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug therapy to methotrexate monotherapy, with glucocorticoid bridging in both groups. Patients were evaluated every 3 months and treated to target.

Long-Term Outcomes of Patients With Recent-Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis After 10 Years of Tight Controlled Treatment: A Randomized Trial.

Background: Treat-to-target therapy is effective for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but long-term results of continued targeted treatment are lacking.

Objective: To evaluate long-term outcomes in patients with early RA after 10 years of targeted treatment in 4 treatment strategies.

Design: Randomized trial.

Feasibility of tailored treatment based on risk stratification in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Personalized medicine is the holy grail of medicine. The EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) support differential treatment between patients with baseline characteristics suggestive of a non-poor prognosis (non-PP) or poor prognosis (PP) (presence of autoantibodies, a high inflammatory activity and damage on radiographs). We aimed to determine which prognostic risk groups benefit more from initial monotherapy or initial combination therapy.

A decrease in disease activity score (DAS) level is associated with a decrease in health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) score, independent of follow-up duration, during 5 years of tightly controlled treatment: results from the BeSt study.

Objective: To assess the relationship between a decrease in disease activity score (DAS) and functional ability during 5 years of DAS-steered treatment in recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, taking into account absolute DAS levels and follow-up duration.

Methods: Data from the BeSt study were used, in which treatment was aimed at achieving DAS ≤2.4.

Drug-free remission, functioning and radiographic damage after 4 years of response-driven treatment in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: To compare the occurrence of drug-free remission, functional ability and radiological damage after 4 years of response-driven treatment according to four different treatment strategies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Patients with recent-onset, active RA (n = 508) were randomly assigned to four different treatment strategies: (1) sequential monotherapy; (2) step-up combination therapy; (3) initial combination therapy with prednisone and (4) initial combination therapy with infliximab. Treatment was adjusted based on 3-monthly disease activity score (DAS) assessments, aiming at a DAS < or =2.

Patient preferences for treatment: report from a randomised comparison of treatment strategies in early rheumatoid arthritis (BeSt trial).

Objective: To determine treatment preferences among patients with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis participating in a randomised controlled trial comparing four therapeutic strategies.

Methods: A questionnaire was sent to all 508 participants of the BeSt trial, treated for an average of 2.2 years with either sequential monotherapy (group 1), step-up combination therapy (group 2), initial combination therapy with tapered high-dose prednisone (group 3), or initial combination therapy with infliximab (group 4).