Study finds Enbrel ineffective for arthritis patients

Pittsburgh, PAA new study out of the University of Pittsburgh has found that arthritis patients have another option in treatment to avoid Enbrel side effects.

The medication has been reportedly associated with an increased risk of serious fungal infection and tuberculosis to those who take it for their rheumatoid arthritis.

However, researchers led by Dr. Larry W. Moreland studied a total of 755 patients, mostly white women, who had early rheumatoid arthritis, WebMD reports. All had an average of less than four months since they were diagnosed and none had received disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

After two years, the researchers found there was no significant "difference in disease activity" after a study looked at participants on the traditional DMARDs and those on a combination of methotrexate and the TNF blocker Enbrel.

"What this means in real clinical practice is that patients should be started on methotrexate alone, with other drugs added only if they don't respond," Moreland told the news provider. "You always want to try to expose the patient to as few drugs as possible."