Early rheumatoid arthritis: combination therapy with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and low-dose glucocorticoids?
BACKGROUND Treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can ensure greater long-term benefit in terms of preventing irreversible radiographic damage and disability. Low-dose treatment with gluco corticoids in combination with diseasemodify ing antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has been shown to be beneficial in the short-term treatment of patients with early RA, but longterm studies are needed to show whether this benefit is sustained.