Rituximab, which is used for treating rheumatoid arthritis, is not only safe but also very much effective at the same time as per the biggest study of its kind. The study results were presented for the first time at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR 2005, in Vienna.

Lead author, Professor Paul Emery from the University of Leeds in the UK, of the DANCER Study (Double blind placebo controlled dose ranging study), remarked that rituximab is an effective and better option than a placebo for treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

From News-Medical.Net:

Professor Paul Emery from the University of Leeds in the UK led the DANCER study (Double blind placebo controlled dose ranging study), designed to confirm the efficacy of rituximab for the treatment of patients with active RA who have failed to improve on one or more disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Rituximab targets a specific type of immune cell and helps to control inflammation and pain.

The DANCER study involved 465 men and women who had had arthritis for about 10 years. It examined the relative efficacy of two different dose levels of rituximab, as well as the role of anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids (steroids), in the treatment programme.

Professor Emery remarked that these study findings went on to suggest that rituximab, which is considered as a first-line therapy by many medical practitioners, is indeed safe and well-tolerated for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.