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Summary
A double-blind placebo-controlled trial was carried out in 20 patients with classical rheumatoid arthritis to study the effect of imipramine on rheumatoid factor titres. Patients were allocated at random to receive 6-weeks treatment with imipramine, in low dosage, or placebo in addition to their antirheumatic medication. They were then followed up for a further 4 weeks during which only their antirheumatic medication was continued. Assessments were made, at entry and after 3,6 and 10 weeks, of rheumatoid factor titres, pain scores, articular index, PIP joint size, grip strength, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and depression index. The results showed that changes in rheumatoid factor titre in the placebo and post-treatment groups were similar to changes occurring during the administration of imipramine. There was, however, a significant correlation between the changes in depression rating score and articular index.
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