A Comparison of Methotrexate Alone or Combined to Infliximab or to Pulse Methylprednisolone in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients were eligible for this study if they met the American Rheumatism Association classification criteria for RA (9), had a disease duration inferior to one year, suffered from active disease (defined as the presence of a swollen joint count \[SJC\] ≥ 6 \[by the 66 joints count\] and a tender joint count \[TJC\] ≥ 8 \[by the 68 joints count\]) and had not been treated with MTX before. * Patients were eligible for this study if they met the American Rheumatism Association classification criteria for RA (9), had a disease duration inferior to one year, suffered from active disease (defined as the presence of a swollen joint count \[SJC\] ≥ 6 \[by the 66 joints count\] and a tender joint count \[TJC\] ≥ 8 \[by the 68 joints count\]) and had not been treated with MTX before. Exclusion Criteria: * Exclusion criteria included past/current history of tuberculosis, congestive heart disease, past treatment with GC for more than 3 months (and not during the 4 weeks before inclusion), previous treatment with more than 2 DMARDs, MTX, IV MP pulse.