Vasculitis & polymyalgia rheumatica
Results of a 1-year randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial with methotrexate 25 mg/week in recently diagnosed polymyalgia rheumatica
Primary result · GC-free remissionResult — go to the resultRisk difference 34% 1-sided 95% CI 14%Authors' conclusion
This small but high-quality RCT demonstrated that methotrexate 25 mg/wk significantly increases the likelihood of achieving GC-free remission at 52 weeks in newly diagnosed PMR.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with recently diagnosed PMR (2012 EULAR/ACR criteria) and <8 weeks of glucocorticoid (GC) use58 analysed
- Participants
- 64 patients
- Comparison
- MTX 25 mg/wk vs placebo, alongside a 24-week GC-tapering protocol
- Primary endpoint
- GC-free remission (PMR-AS <10 and no GC use)
- Follow-up
- Week 52
Methodological detailsdouble-blind, placebo-controlled, 52-week
- Double-blind
- Placebo-controlled
- 52-week
Primary result
GC-free remission · 52 weeks
Risk difference
34%
1-sided 95% CI 14%
1-sided P = .0042
By group
Methotrexatevs Placebo
risk difference 34% (1-sided 95% CI 14%); 1-sided P = .0042
As reported in the abstract
Original publication
Results of a 1-year randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial with methotrexate 25 mg/week in recently diagnosed polymyalgia rheumatica. Ann Rheum Dis. Published 21 December 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →