LUO YAN, WANG ZHIZHONG, WANG YONG, et al. Correlation of methotrexate polyglutamate concentration in erythrocyte with methotrexate efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis patients. [J]. Journal of army medical university, 2011, 33(5): 473-476.
LUO YAN, WANG ZHIZHONG, WANG YONG, et al. Correlation of methotrexate polyglutamate concentration in erythrocyte with methotrexate efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis patients. [J]. Journal of army medical university, 2011, 33(5): 473-476.DOI:
Objective To investigate the correlation between the disease activity and methotrexate polyglutamate (MTXPG) concentration in the erythrocytes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with methotrexate (MTX). Methods Seventy-six cases of RA patien
ts
treated with MTX for 3 months
were selected for the cross-sectional study. MTXPG concentrations in the erythrocytes of RA patients were measured by ELISA. The seventy-six cases were divided into a remarkably effective group
an effective group and an ineffective group based on disease activity score (DAS28) after treatment as well as DAS28 difference before and after treatment. MTXPG concentrations were compared among the above groups
and their correlation with MTX efficacy on RA was analyzed. Results The numbers of RA patients in the remarkably effective group
effective group and ineffective group were 21
41 and 14
respectively. MTXPG concentrations in the erythrocytes of the remarkably effective group were 158.87±48.27 ng/ml
significantly higher than those of the effective group (105.89±24.23 ng/ml) and ineffective group (85.80±21.30 ng/ml) (
P
<
0.01). MTXPG concentrations were negatively related to CRP (
r
=-0.628
P
=0.000)
time of morning stiffness (
r
=-0.396
P
=0.000)
swollen joint count (
r
=-0.321
P
=0.005)
tender joint count (
r
=-0.376,
P
=0.001)
visual analogue scale (
r
=-0.236
P
=0.000)
and DAS (
r
=-0.255,
P
=0.026). However
there was no correlation between MTXPG concentrations and blood sedimentation or health assessment questionnaire (
P
>0.05). Conclusion MTXPG concentrations in the erythrocytes are significantly different in the remarkably effective group
effective group and ineffective group of RA patients treated with MTX. The higher the MTXPG level