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Over the
course of two decades, almost 30 percent of rheumatoid arthritis
patients will develop the most severe form of the disease,
according to Finnish researchers.
The study
included 103 rheumatoid arthritis patients, whose hands and
feet were X-rayed at onset of the study, and again at one,
three, eight, 14 and 20 years. At the beginning of the trial,
all participants had suffered from the disease for less than
six months.
The researchers,
reporting in the Journal of Rheumatology, found joint destruction
progression averaged two to three percent per year, with 23
percent of patients experiencing extensive joint destruction
at the 20-year endpoint.
"These
data will serve as a basis for discussion of methods and comparison
with other cohorts in the future," the researchers concluded.
Source:
Arthritis Week
of June 9, 2002
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