Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Rheumatoid Arthritis, including details on treatment, symptoms, causes, medication.

Thalidomide for severe systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: A multicenter study.

Lehman TJ, Schechter SJ, Sundel RP, Oliveira SK, Huttenlocher A, Onel KB

Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Hospital for Special Surgery, and the Department of Pediatrics, Sanford Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA.

Thirteen children with difficult systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis were treated with thalidomide. At 6 months, 11 of the 13 were able to reduce their use of prednisone ( P < .002), with a concurrent improvement in erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( P < .0001) and an increase in hemoglobin level ( P < 0.005). Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis improvement scores >/=50% were obtained by 10 of the 13 children.

Published 6 December 2004 in J Pediatr, 145(6): 856-7.
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