Daily oral administration of low-dose methotrexate has greater antirheumatic effects in collagen-induced arthritis rats.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Methotrexate (MTX) is administered once or thrice weekly to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Even though RA continually progresses, MTX is not administered daily. Therefore, we investigated whether the daily administration of a low dose of MTX inhibits the progression of arthritis in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats.

Methods

Methotrexate was orally administered once weekly, thrice weekly and once daily to CIA rats, and arthritis scores were measured.

Key findings

When the same dose of MTX was administered, the exacerbation of arthritis was inhibited significantly more in the once-daily group than in the other groups. When the dose in the once-daily group was reduced to one-fourth that of the current standard dosing method, arthritis scores were

SUBMITTER: Koyama A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5575561 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature