Twenty years later: Thalidomide, a new antirheumatic agent. Preliminary communication

Abstract

In accordance with thalidomide effects in lepra reaction and because of similarities between the latter and connective tissue diseases, the use of this drug in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was decided. Two female patients with long-standing definite RA were treated. Initial daily 300 mg doses were later increased up to 600 mg. Remissions of pain as well as of articular inflammatory phenomena were rapid and notorius responses. During treatment, there were pain exacerbations with pruritus, erythema, and edema of the face and extremities, manifestations that disappeared on administration of antihistamines. In one patient, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) became normal, while it notoriously decreased in the other. Both patients are symptom-free 5 and 13 weeks after ceasing treatment.