Clinical studies on alclofenac in the treatment of rheumatic diseases: a drug in question

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
SummaryThe potential advantage to patients with chronic rheumatic diseases of an effective, non-steroidal analgesic anti-inflammatory drug which causes insignificant gastric bleecling was a decisive factor leacling to the introduction of alclofenac. Short-term double-blind trials showed that alclofenac has analgesic / anti-inflammatory activities equivalent to phenylbutazone, indomethacin and aspirin, but superior to thefenemates and propionic acid derivatives.Long-term controlled studies, ranging from 5 months to 3½ years and using reliable, objective measures reveal, however, that patients with rheumatoid arthritis improve in functional status and graduate to less severe classes of disease activity, a phenomenon not observed with either indomethacin or aspirin administered to matched patients over the same periods of time. So far, clinical improvement on alclofenac has been matched only by treatment with gold, D-penicillamine and the immunosuppressive antiproliferative drugs. This clinical improvement o...