Evaluation of roflumilast activity alone and in combination with infliximab or with dexamethasone and comparison the activity of these treatments in an induced rheumatoid arthritis in rats

Abstract EN

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune systemic disease, with chronic inflammation of the synovial joint and progressive destruction of cartilage and bone.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the anti-arthritic activity of Roflumilast alone.

In addition, when combined to Infliximab or to Dexamethasone.

Then to compare the efficacy of all individual treatments, and evaluate the anti-rheumatoid arthritis efficacy of combined therapies to each other and to individual treatments in an induced rheumatoid arthritis in rats.

Materials and Methods: Eight-week-old, white male.

Wister rats, weighing 160 to 185 g were used in this study.

Rheumatoid arthritis was induced with Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) compound.

This study was relied on measuring changes in the following parameters for all rats included in the study: body weights, paw thickness, tumor necrosis factor concentrations (TNFα), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs) Result: Roflumilast treatment showed beneficial modulatory significant effects on parameters used in this study, and this efficacy was better than Infliximab and Dexamethasone efficacy in advanced weeks of the experiment.

Combination therapy of Roflumilast and Infliximab showed early anti-rheumatoid arthritis continued to the end of experiment, and was better than single administration of these drugs, and it was considered as the best combination therapy.

Combination therapy of Roflumilast and Dexamethasone showed early anti-rheumatoid arthritis efficacy continued to the end of experiment, and was better than single administration of these drugs.

Conclusion: Roflumilast alone or in combination with standard treatment Infliximab or Dexamethasone has antiarthritic activity on CFA induced arthritis in rats.

These combinations may be alternative and promising drugs in RA treatments in humans.