A Slight Advantage in Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis

Looking just at the reports from US survey participants with rheumatoid arthritis, we find that 57 percent of rheumatologists treating them are able to give dramatic long-term help. The comments from these participants are likewise more glowing: 'I can honestly say my rheumatologist was a godsend,' wrote a nursing-home administrator from Pennsylvania, whose rheumatologist is treating her with an experimental drug. 'I was in so much pain, and he knew exactly what to try and what to do to help. If I'd found him sooner, I would never have lost any joints.'
For those US survey participants with osteoarthritis, on the other hand, 'only" 34 percent of rheumatologists achieved dramatic long-term results. This is still an extremely good track record. What's more, when we add on the figures for moderate long-term improvement and temporary help, it turns out that fully 79 percent of our US survey participants with osteoarthritis who saw a rheumatologist also saw some improvement