title: Currently used second-line agents: do they control the disease course?
abstract: The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis patients with second-line agents (SLA) has changed in recent years. Patients are treated increasingly earlier since it has been shown that joint damage starts already in the first years of the disease. In addition, the number of effective SLAs available has increased, including drugs with a relatively fast mode of action and better drug survival curves. Short-term data indicate that effective SLA treatment can slow down radiographic progression. Recent studies have also shown that some SLA combinations are more effective than monotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: van de Putte
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: van Riel
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018450:Disease Progression; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents