Arcoxia comparable to ibuprofen for arthritis

	Tweet

New research indicates that Arcoxia (etoricoxib) is a well-tolerated treatment for arthritis and relieves pain as well as ibuprofen, the active ingredient in Motrin or Advil, for example.

Arcoxia is one of the newest members of the COX-2 inhibitor type of painkillers. Like Vioxx and other members of this class, it has recently come under scrutiny regarding a possible link to Heart attack and Stroke. As such, the US Food and Drug Administration is awaiting further safety data before approving the drug.

Dr. Judith A. Boice, from Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, New Jersey, and colleagues compared Arcoxia with ibuprofen and inactive “placebo” as a treatment for arthritis of the hip and knee.

A total of 528 patients participated in the 12-week study.

The researchers’ findings appear in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Arcoxia and ibuprofen took about 2 weeks to achieve maximum effectiveness and this level of symptom control was maintained for the remaining 10 weeks. Both drugs were significantly better than placebo at reducing arthritis pain and improving function. In addition, both drugs were generally well tolerated.

“For patients with (arthritis), treatment with etoricoxib...is well tolerated and provides sustained therapeutic efficacy that is superior to placebo and clinically comparable to ibuprofen,” the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic Proceedings, April 2005.

RELATED STORIES:
Rheumatoid Arthritis   Psoriatic arthritis common in people with psoriasis   Mental distress common in adults with arthritis   Another use for statins - treating rheumatoid arthritis   Remicade doesn’t change cholesterol ratio   Biologics for rheumatoid arthritis work, but which is best?   Minorities Hit Hardest by Arthritis   Gold helps with arthritis when usual drug fails   Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis Less Likely to Go into Remission   Willow bark shows no benefit in arthritis study   New way of classifying rheumatoid arthritis aimed at identifying the disease earlier   If You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis and You Smoke, Listen Up

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]