Long-term methotrexate treatment in corticosteroid-dependent asthma

Article Abstract:

Asthmatic patients who required corticosteroids daily to maintain lung function, and had been unable to reduce their corticosteroid dosage, were treated with low doses of methotrexate. Patients were selected if their pulmonary function had rapidly deteriorated when their dose of corticosteroid was reduced. The efficacy and toxicity of treatment with methotrexate for 18 to 28 months was examined in 25 patients. Following the methotrexate therapy, the patients' previous corticosteroid doses were reduced from an average of 26.9 milligrams per day to 6.3 milligrams per day. Fifteen of the patients no longer required corticosteroids on a regular basis. Nine patients had reduced their use of corticosteroids by more than 50 percent, and one patient did not respond to methotrexate treatment. In addition, the patients showed improvement in forced expiratory function, a test of lung function, after taking methotrexate. Asthmatic symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, coughing, and wheezing, improved and the frequency of wakening up at night was diminished. Fifteen of the patients had mild adverse reactions to methotrexate, including nausea, rash, thinning of hair and inflammation of the stomach lining; they did not need to discontinue the treatment. These findings indicate that methotrexate is a safe and effective long-term treatment that can be used to lower or eliminate the use of corticosteroids in patients with severe bronchial asthma. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Evaluation, Asthma, Adrenocortical hormones

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Methotrexate induces clinical and histologic remission in patients with refractory inflammatory bowel disease

Article Abstract:

A study was undertaken to determine if a cancer therapy drug, methotrexate, has an anti-inflammatory effect in inflammatory bowel disease that is resistant to treatment. (The inflammatory response is an attempt by the body to isolate a regionalized area because of injury or destruction of tissues by chemical, immunologic or other factors.) Twenty-one patients with various types of inflammatory bowel disease were given methotrexate in addition to their normal drugs. The effect of the drug on various subgroups is detailed. The results of the pilot study are encouraging, but further investigation is needed before methotrexate therapy can be recommended for inflammatory bowel disease.

Crohn's disease

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Clinical remission after syngeneic bone marrow transplantation in a patient with AL amyloidosis

Article Abstract:

Bone marrow transplants from genetically related individuals may be a new treatment for AL amyloidosis. A 32-year-old woman was diagnosed with AL amyloidosis, in which certain proteins accumulate in tissues or organs. Her disease was classified as benign monoclonal gammopathy. She was initially treated with melphalan and prednisone, but did not improve after four courses of treatment. She received a bone marrow transplant from an identical twin sister after conditioning with cyclophosphamide. Her condition improved gradually over the next six to 12 months. She did not develop graft-versus-host disease.

Care and treatment, Amyloidosis, Bone marrow, Bone marrow transplantation

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