RELIEF could be on the way for people with painful hand osteoarthritis (OA), after a Monash University and Alfred Health-led study found that methotrexate can reduce symptoms of the condition.
Senior author Prof Flavia Cicuttini said the study identified the role of inflammation in hand OA and the potential benefit of targeting patients who experience painful symptoms.
"In our study, pain stayed the same in the placebo group but continued to decrease in the methotrexate group at three and six months...the pain improvement in the methotrexate group was twice as much as in the placebo group," Cicuttini said.
"Based on these results, use of methotrexate can be considered in the management of hand OA," she concluded.
Methotrexate is commonly used in neoplastic diseases.
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