https://goo.gl/ihJbRf
Rheumatoid arthritis patients who achieve remission while on potent disease modifying agents, including biologics, often – like many other individuals with chronic disorders – wonder about and experiment with tapering or stopping their drugs.
But while tapering drug usage may be possible, it probably isn't something one should try at home – although that is what often happens, researchers said.
In his review of outcomes in psoriatic arthritis at the annual meeting of the European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) in Madrid, Filip von den Bosch, MD, professor of internal medicine at the University of Ghent, Belgium, cited a 2015 article [Araujo EG et al, Ann Rheum Dis 2015] in which the authors found that 77% of patients who discontinued treatment with biologic agents experienced renewed symptoms.
"There was a high incidence of disease recurrence after discontinuation of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug treatment in patients with psoriatic arthritis in remission," van den Bosch said in summarizing the study. He noted that of the 26 patients who had no musculoskeletal complaints and minimal skin disease, most had a return of symptoms within 75 days after going off their medications.