title: 25 mg etanercept once weekly in rheumatoid arthritis and spondylarthropathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the clinical results at 6 months of etanercept 25 mg once weekly (half-dose), and etanercept 25 mg twice weekly (full-dose), in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or spondylarthropathy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case records of all patients treated by etanercept for at least 6 months in the same rheumatology unit were retrospectively studied, to assess the mean values of DAS-28 and BASDAI, just before (J0), and after 6 months (M6) of treatment, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or spondylarthropathy treated with etanercept 25 mg given either once or twice weekly.
  
  
  RESULTS
  112 patients had been treated for at least 6 months (44 at half-dose, and 68 at full-dose). Values of DAS-28 or BASDAI both at J0 and M6 were available in 92 patients. DAS-28 dramatically improved both in the half-dose group (from 5.2+/-0.8 to 3.5+/-0.8) and in the full-dose group (from 5.5+/-1.0 to 4.1+/-1.0). BASDAI also strikingly improved both in the half-dose group (from 60+/-13 to 25+/-18), and in the full-dose group (from 58+/-15 to 37+/-23).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although this was not a double-blind, prospective, randomised study, the strong improvement noticed in the half-dose group suggests that etanercept 25 mg once a week can induce major clinical and biological relief in some patients with RA or spondylarthropathy.
authors.affiliation: Service de Rhumatologie, Hôtel-Dieu, CHU Nantes, Nantes Cedex 01, France. jeanmarie.berthelot@chu-nantes.fr <jeanmarie.berthelot@chu-nantes.fr>
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Berthelot
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Varin
authors.forename: Grégoire
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cormier
authors.forename: Laetitia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tortellier
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guillot
authors.forename: Joëlle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Glemarec
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maugars
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D000068800:Etanercept; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D025242:Spondylarthropathies / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D000068800:Etanercept