Table 1.
The Main Characteristics of RA Patients and Healthy Volunteers
| Characteristics | MTX group | iTNF group | Healthy controls | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 19) | (n = 17) | (n = 13) | |||
| Before | After | Before | After | ||
| Age, mean ± SD (years) | 54.7 ± 16.4 | 50.1 ± 6.9 | 53.5 ± 9.6 | ||
| Sex, female/male | 12/7 | 14/3 | 10/3 | ||
| Duration, mean (range) (months) | 15.2 [2.0–79.0] | 123.7 [13.0–300.0] | |||
| Steroid, +/− | 12/7 | 7/12 | 16/1 | 16/1 | |
| NSAID, +/− | 15/4 | 15/4 | 13/4 | 13/4 | |
| Prior DMARDS, +/− | 10/9 | 10/9 | 16/1 | 16/1 | |
| DAS28, mean ± SD | 5.6 ± 0.9 | 3.3 ± 1.2 | 6.2 ± 0.8 | 4.8 ± 1.1 | |
| RF, positive/negative | 16/3 | 16/3 | 13/4 | 13/4 | |
| CRP (mg/l) | 24.4 ± 38.1 | 10.1 ± 26.7 | 24.4 ± 20.6 | 19.9 ± 22.4 | |
| ESR (mm/h) | 31.2 ± 22.0 | 18.1 ± 10.5 | 29.9 ± 16.0 | 27.2 ± 18.9 | |
NSAID non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, DMARDs disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, DAS28 disease activity score rated by the 28-joint count, RF rheumatoid factor, CRP C-reactive protein, ESR erythrocyte sedimentation rate