Abstract: AIM: To compare the effectiveness and safety of actarit (ACT) versus methotrexate (MTX) in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: 75 RA patients randomly assigned to receive ACT (n=45) or MTX (n=30).The patients in the ACT group received ACT 300 mg·d -1 and in the MTX group receivedMTX 10mg per week.The total courses were 12 weeks. RESULTS: The total effective rates of the ACT group and the MTX group were 73.3%and 83.3% at 12 weeks, respectively.There was no statistical significance between the two groups in the effectiveness (P >0.05). The adverse reaction rate was 4.4%(2 case) in the ACT group and 10%(7cases) inMTX group.The adverse reactions were more tolerable in ATC group than that in MTX group (P <0.05). CONCLUSION: ATC is an effective and more safe drug for patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.

Key words: pharmacodynamics, arthritis, rheumatoid, actarit, methotrexate