Low-dose cyclosporin versus placebo in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

144 patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis from six centres were randomised to receive oral cyclosporin or placebo for 6 months. The initial daily dose of cyclosporin was 2.5 mg/kg, which was increased cautiously with monitoring of serum cyclosporin levels and creatinine; the mean stabilisation dose was 3.8 mg/kg. There were significant improvements in the cyclosporin-treated patients compared with the controls in the major outcomes of …