Rheumatoid Arthritis UAE United Arab Emirates

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Many residents 'delay diagnosis by a year'
By Nina MuslimStaff ReporterPublished: June 22, 2008, 23:54
Paris/Dubai: A combination of drugs has been found to halt the progress or induce remission in rheumatoid arthritis, a crippling autoimmune disorder that affects the joints, European researchers have announced.
Speaking at a press conference during the European League Against Rheumatism (Eural) medical conference, researchers said a two-year study Combination of Methotrexate and Etanercept helped 50 per cent of more than 500 patients achieve clinical remission, in which they no longer showed symptoms.
A total of 80 per cent patients no longer showed signs of inflammation characteristic of the disorder in imaging tests. Fifty per cent patients achieved absence of symptoms, while 55 per cent patients were able to function normally in their daily activities.
Etanercept, marketed by Wyeth and AmGen as Enbrel, has a black box warning on it for increasing the risk of serious infections that can lead to death, such as tuberculosis and sepsis.
Prof. Paul Emery, president-elect of Eural who conducted the study, said it was important to start effective treatment as soon as possible to prevent damage.
"If you don't get it right at the beginning, you don't get right at the end," he said. "Once in remission, there is a good chance of stopping therapy."
Many patients in the UAE do not receive the most effective treatment early on. Dr. Humeira Badsha, specialist rheumatologist at Dubai Bone and Joint Centre, told Gulf News many in the UAE delayed diagnosis by more than a year.
"We have published in leading journals showing that the average patient here has a delay in diagnosis of more than 12 months and further delay in treatment of more than a year. Patients here feel that there is no effective treatment and hence try alternative forms of medicine before seeing a rheumatologist," she said.
She said treatment should occur within three months of onset of symptoms or disorder, adding a few patients who received early aggressive treatment were now effectively "cured" and in remission.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease, which occurs when the immune system attacks the joints and causes inflammation in some organs, such as the lung and skin. It is life-shortening, causes disability and has been likened to cancer.
The prevalence rate for the disease is one per cent, with women three times more likely to be affected. A rheumatoid arthritis group in the UAE claims 19,500 women in the UAE have the disorder but does not explain how it came by the figure.
Dr Humeira said because the disease robbed people of their normal function and productivity, treatment for it should be considered essential and included under Dubai Health Funding plan. Treatment costs about Dh5,000 a month.
"Definitely it is essential. These diseases affect young people and cause disability. It is also shown that RA leads to shortened life span of more than 10 years. Specialists now know that RA is every bit as damaging as cancer, can shorten life span and place a huge burden on families."
The average patient has a delay in diagnosis of more than 12 months ... Patients here feel there is no effective treatment and hence try alternative forms of medicine before seeing a rheumatologist."