EFFICACY OF DIFFERENT IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE PROTOCOLS WITH CYCLOSPORINE AND METHOTREXATE FOR PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC VARIANT OF JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

<em>The article provides information on efficiency of different protocols of therapy with cyclosporine and methotrexate for patients suffering from severe systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). it shows that a therapy combining cyclosporine with dosage of 4,4 ± 0,58 mg/kg of body per day and methotrexate with dosage of 8,1 ± 1,07 mg/m2 a week is more efficient than monotherapy with each of the same medications of same dosage. Combined use of immunosuppressants induces remission of articular syndrome and constitutional manifestations, as well as provides normalization of laboratory disease activity indications in more than 50% of cases of long clasting systemic variant of JRA on the average a year after the initiation of treatment. Combining cyclosporine with methotrexat improves the curative action of each of the medications without aggravation of their toxic influence. High efficiency of combining cyclosporine with methotrexate makes enables lowering the dosage of glucocorticoids to be taken orally, as well as not prescribing prednisolone to the severe cases of systemic variant of JRA.</em><br /><strong><em>Key words: juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, treatment, cyclosporine, methotrexate, combined therapy, children.</em>