Associations Between Changes in Pain Sensitization and Disease Activity Following Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drug Therapy in Established Rheumatoid Arthritis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Abnormalities in pain regulatory mechanisms are common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated whether pain sensitization changes after treatment with a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) and explored associations between changes in pain sensitization and disease activity.

Methods

We included 182 participants with active RA initiating/switching DMARD therapy who were observed for 12 weeks. To assess pain sensitization, participants underwent quantitative sensory testing (QST), including pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) at multiple anatomic sites, temporal summation (TS) at the wrist and forearm, and conditioned pain modulation (CPM). RA disease activity was measured using the Disease Activity Score 28 with C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP)

SUBMITTER: Aydemir B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12750133 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature