Trial reportAnnals of the rheumatic diseases1992
Circulating cytokine levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results of a double blind trial with sulphasalazine.
Trial report in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 1992. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sulfasalazine for rheumatoid arthritis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2000Pooled it
- Interleukin-6 levels and their haplotypes are associated with serological autoantibodies status and clinical activity in rheumatoid arthritis.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Methotrexate upregulates circadian transcriptional factors PAR bZIP to induce apoptosis on rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts.Arthritis research & therapy · 2018Article
- Serum Biomarkers for Discrimination between Hepatitis C-Related Arthropathy and Early Rheumatoid Arthritis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2017Article
- Major involvement of bacterial components in rheumatoid arthritis and its accompanying oxidative stress, systemic inflammation and hypercoagulability.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2017Review
- Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Monoclonal Antibodies Approved to Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis.Clinical pharmacokinetics · 2015Review
- Baroreflex activation in conscious rats modulates the joint inflammatory response via sympathetic function.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2015Article
- Adenosine A2A receptor and TNF-α regulate the circadian machinery of the human monocytic THP-1 cells.Inflammation · 2013Article
- IL-23R rs11209026 polymorphism modulates IL-17A expression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Genes and immunity · 2012Article
- Identification of the homeobox protein Prx1 (MHox, Prrx-1) as a regulator of osterix expression and mediator of tumor necrosis factor α action in osteoblast differentiation.Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2011Article
- Imbalances between interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor agonists and antagonists in stable COPD.Journal of clinical immunology · 2009Article
- Overnight variations in cortisol, interleukin 6, tumour necrosis factor alpha and other cytokines in people with rheumatoid arthritis.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2009Article
- Disparate effects of simvastatin on angiogenesis during hypoxia and inflammation.Life sciences · 2008Article
- Patient demographics and disease variables correlate with distinct cytokine patterns in mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients.Rheumatology international · 2008Article
- A novel mechanism of neutrophil recruitment in a coculture model of the rheumatoid synovium.Arthritis and rheumatism · 2005Article
- Review
- Cytokines in rheumatoid arthritis. Potential targets for pharmacological intervention.Drugs & aging · 1998Review
- Blood polymorphonuclear leukocyte migratory activities during rheumatoid arthritis.Inflammation · 1995Article
- Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Potential effects in older patients.Drugs & aging · 1995Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Interleukin 1 (IL-1), IL-6, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) alpha are pleiotropic cytokines produced predominantly by macrophages which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Sulphasalazine has been shown to have disease modifying properties and to inhibit the production of cytokines in vitro. To evaluate the effect of sulphasalazine on cytokine production in vivo, serum cytokine levels were measured in a group of patients with RA entered into a randomised controlled trial. Serum levels of IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF alpha were measured at baseline and at two monthly intervals for six months in 17 patients receiving sulphasalazine and in 22 patients treated with placebo. The two groups of patients had a similar age and sex distribution, had had RA for less than a year, had no joint erosions, and had not been treated previously with any other disease modifying drugs. In the 39 patients studied IL-1 alpha was detected (> 0.1 ng/ml) at baseline in 14 patients (median 0.24 ng/ml), IL-1 beta in 25 patients (median 1.0 ng/ml), TNF alpha in 27 patients (median 1.2 ng/ml), and IL-6 in 33 patients (median 0.44 ng/ml). In the group treated with sulphasalazine there was a progressive and significant decline in serum IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, and TNF alpha levels over the six month period (median levels at six months were < 0.1, 0.12, and 0.44 ng/ml respectively). Interleukin 6 levels were significantly reduced only at the four month time point (median level of 0.23 ng/ml). These reductions were associated with improvements in clinical and laboratory measures of disease activity. In contrast patients receiving the placebo showed no changes in serum cytokine levels and no improvement in clinical and laboratory indices of disease activity. These results suggest that sulphasalazine may exert its disease modifying effect partly by suppressing cytokine production in vivo.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.