To study efficiency in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of local radiotherapy methods: radionuclide synovectomy (RS), x-ray therapy (XRT) and local gamma-therapy (LGT) proposed by the authors.
175 patients with RA received local radiotherapy on the knee joints. The patients were divided into three groups comparable by age, sex and disease characteristics receiving RS, XRT and LGT. The patients were for the most part women over 45 years with RA (duration 5 years and longer), polyarthritis, the disease x-ray stage II, moderate activity.
RS was most effective of the above methods, especially in long-term period. It produces antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive action. The new method, LGT, was effective in more than half the patients. It is antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive. XRT was the less effective of the three methods as it has only nonspecific antiinflammatory action.
Local radiotherapy enhances efficacy of RA treatment. RS and LGT produce immunosuppressive and antiinflammatory actions while XRT has only antiinflammatory action.