enbrel plus mtx= no progression of joint damage . . .

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DCHAM - 18 Oct 2004 17:57 GMT

. . . except in me, of course. but the article is encouraging for the newbies.

diane

New Two-Year Data Show That Most Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Treated with
ENBREL Plus Methotrexate Had No Progression of Joint Damage

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. & COLLEGEVILLE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- Additional Data
Demonstrated that Patients Treated with ENBREL Plus Methotrexate had Greater
Improvement in Physical Function Scores After Two Years Compared to
Methotrexate Alone Nearly three quarters (74.2 percent) of rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) patients treated with ENBREL(R) (etanercept) plus methotrexate
combination therapy experienced no progression of joint damage over a
continuous two-year span. These new two-year results from the ongoing TEMPO
(Trial of Etanercept and Methotrexate with Radiographic Patient Outcomes) study
were presented today at the American College of Rheumatology's Annual
Scientific Meeting in San Antonio, Texas....

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JXStern - 19 Oct 2004 01:49 GMT

>. . . except in me, of course. but the article is encouraging for the newbies.

...

>New Two-Year Data Show That Most Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Treated with
>ENBREL Plus Methotrexate Had No Progression of Joint Damage

Well sure, I guess I believe this, would even expect it, BUT:

* What about the quality of life for patients taking mtx as well as
Enbrel?

* Isn't mtx generally considered risky to take for more than two
years?

* What about other negative effects from long-term mtx use?

OTOH, it might be that mtx use discourages the body from developing a
reaction to Enbrel, which I gather is something that does occur, and
is being seen more these days as more early Enbrel users are now
getting into their third, fourth, and fifth years of use.

J.

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Harvey R. Stone - 19 Oct 2004 04:42 GMT

>>. . . except in me, of course. but the article is encouraging for the
>>newbies.
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> J.

Hhhhm, More years than that and Enbrel does not have the same kind of
reaction that Remicade does. Good luck with it all and get started on
tomorrow.
Harv

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Kitty Kelly - 20 Oct 2004 00:38 GMT

Has anyone heard from the Enbrel cheerleader, Gloria?

I've been thinking about her since reading that it stopped working for a
lot of people using it.

-g-

Kitty

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Harvey R. Stone - 20 Oct 2004 13:25 GMT

> Has anyone heard from the Enbrel cheerleader, Gloria?
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Kitty

For people that do not know her, she was in the original trails and the
last I heard was still doing well and using Enbrel.
Harv

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Char - 20 Oct 2004 17:06 GMT

Kitty-Gloria dropped out. I was the one who was last in touch with her, but
the email address I had for her is no longer valid.

She got married and then her new husband had some health issues and couldnt
work. They were completely remodeling her house and ran into some serious
financial problems, and she simply stopped corresponding with me.

The last I knew, she was still on Enbrel and doing very very well.
Char

"Remember, I'm pulling for ya'. We're all in this together." Red Green

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Gwen Love - 20 Oct 2004 21:14 GMT

When I went to my Rheumy last month, I found out that she is still going to
him.
Gwen

> Kitty-Gloria dropped out. I was the one who was last in touch with her, but
> the email address I had for her is no longer valid.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> "Remember, I'm pulling for ya'. We're all in this together." Red Green

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Karen Palmer - 20 Oct 2004 19:01 GMT

'> * Isn't mtx generally considered risky to take for more than two
years?

I've been on MTX since 1989 I've never had any problems except for
hair loss. No mouth sores, no bad liver tests etc. It is considered safe
for long term use at our doses with proper testing. When I first started
it you had to have a liver biopsy after a certain cumlative dose but even
that requirement for the vast majority is gone now. Those biopsys showed
that as long as the drug was stopped promptly when tests were abnormal that
the liver could repair itself. For me MTX wasn't strong enough to stop
damage, neither was enbrel in combo, or humira. We're trying remicade now

Karen

> >. . . except in me, of course. but the article is encouraging for the newbies.
> ...
> >New Two-Year Data Show That Most Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Treated with
> >ENBREL Plus Methotrexate Had No Progression of Joint Damage

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Nann Bell - 20 Oct 2004 21:53 GMT

> '> * Isn't mtx generally considered risky to take for more than two
> years?
>
> I've been on MTX since 1989 I've never had any problems except for
> hair loss. No mouth sores, no bad liver tests etc. It is considered safe
> for long term use at our doses with proper testing.

My dad took it for 25 years without problem or complication. Unfortunately
it didn't fully control his RA but the newwer meds weren't out yet. i
suspect ongoing disease contributed to the coronary artery disease that
killed him.

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Nann
remove the Gator cheer to email me
Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare

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John Williams - 19 Oct 2004 05:24 GMT

That was an interesting article. Methotrexate did absolutely nothing
positive for me except make me sick. With Enbrel, I feel like I don't have
arthritis any more. I wonder if Enbrel alone would have this effect. I bet
that it does for me.

> New Two-Year Data Show That Most Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Treated with
> ENBREL Plus Methotrexate Had No Progression of Joint Damage
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> were presented today at the American College of Rheumatology's Annual
> Scientific Meeting in San Antonio, Texas....

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Harvey R. Stone - 19 Oct 2004 14:34 GMT

> That was an interesting article. Methotrexate did absolutely nothing
> positive for me except make me sick. With Enbrel, I feel like I don't
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>> were presented today at the American College of Rheumatology's Annual
>> Scientific Meeting in San Antonio, Texas....

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Harvey R. Stone - 19 Oct 2004 14:37 GMT

> That was an interesting article. Methotrexate did absolutely nothing
> positive for me except make me sick. With Enbrel, I feel like I don't
> have
> arthritis any more. I wonder if Enbrel alone would have this effect. I
> bet
> that it does for me.

If you are like me, Methx was always tough on me and I did not enjoy taking
it. I believe that my knees actually got better during the almost 3 years I
took Enbrel. I also found out that my shoulders even got better with
Remicade.
Harv

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Rebecca Ford - 19 Oct 2004 20:37 GMT

I started on Enbrel alone and did well with only a few flares and some
background aches for 5 years. At that point I went into a terrible flare
that required a steroid shot and mtx to get out of. I've now been on the
combo for 4 months. After 5 1/2 years with RA I still have no damage. Mtx
was terrible at first. I still get nauseous the night of taking it and feel
kind of oogy the whole next day. My energy levels are still off and my pms
is waaayy worse, but I'd still take these side effects any day over the pain
of my bad flares. It's easy to forget just how bad that pain really is when
the drugs are working so well.

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Rebecca Ford

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