Methotrexate in Giant-Cell Arteritis
Authors: Robert F. Spiera, Stephen Paget, Harry Spiera
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2001)

Letters4 December 2001Methotrexate in Giant-Cell ArteritisRobert F. Spiera, MD, Stephen Paget, MD, and Harry Spiera, MDRobert F. Spiera, MDBeth Israel Hospital; New York, NY 10128Hospital for Special Surgery; New York, NY 10021Mount Sinai Medical Center; New York, NY 10029Search for more papers by this author, Stephen Paget, MDBeth Israel Hospital; New York, NY 10128Hospital for Special Surgery; New York, NY 10021Mount Sinai Medical Center; New York, NY 10029Search for more papers by this author, and Harry Spiera, MDBeth Israel Hospital; New York, NY 10128Hospital for Special Surgery; New York, NY 10021Mount Sinai Medical Center; New York, NY 10029Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-135-11-200112040-00018 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Jover and colleagues' findings (1) suggest that methotrexate affords a steroid-sparing and disease-controlling benefit in the treatment of giant-cell arteritis. Combination therapy with methotrexate and corticosteroids resulted in fewer relapses, shorter duration of corticosteroid therapy, and lower cumulative doses of corticosteroids than corticosteroids alone. Two other recent studies, however, could not demonstrate such benefits (2, 3).Giant-cell arteritis was traditionally treated with prolonged courses of corticosteroids, often, as noted by Jover and colleagues, for more than 2 years. The recognition that corticosteroid-related side effects had become a major cause of morbidity caused most clinicians to adopt a ...References1. Jover JA, Hernández-García C, Morado IC, Vargas E, Bañares A, Fernández-Gutiérrez B. Combined treatment of giant-cell arteritis with methotrexate and prednisone. a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:106-14. [PMID: 11177313] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Spiera R, Mitnick H, Kupersmith M, Richmond M, Spiera H, Peterson M, et al . A prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled trial of methotrexate in the treatment of giant cell arteritis (GCA). Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2001;19:495-501. [PMID: 11579707] MedlineGoogle Scholar3. Hoffman G, Cid M, Hellman D, Merkel P, Guillevin L, Dickler H, et al . A multi-center placebo controlled study of methotrexate (MTX) in giant cell arteritis (GCA) [Abstract]. Arthritis Rheum. 2000;43:S115. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Beth Israel Hospital; New York, NY 10128Hospital for Special Surgery; New York, NY 10021Mount Sinai Medical Center; New York, NY 10029 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoCombined Treatment of Giant-Cell Arteritis with Methotrexate and Prednisone Juan A. Jover , César Hernández-García , Inmaculada C. Morado , Emilio Vargas , Antonio Bañares , and Benjamín Fernández-Gutiérrez Methotrexate in Giant-Cell Arteritis Juan A. Jover , César Hernández-García , and Benjamín Fernández-Gutiérrez Methotrexate in Giant-Cell Arteritis Sarah L. Morgan and Graciela S. Alarcón Metrics Cited byVasculitis de grandes vasosDiagnostic dilemmas in orbital inflammatory diseaseBilateral Vertebral Artery Occlusion Resulting from Giant Cell Arteritis 4 December 2001Volume 135, Issue 11Page: 1006-1007KeywordsAdverse eventsCorticosteroid therapyMethotrexateMorbidityQuality of lifeSteroidsVision ePublished: 4 December 2001 Issue Published: 4 December 2001 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2001 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...