Question
my 11year old daughter has down syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis, she is on 12.5 mg of methotrexate by injection once a week, i have noticed that her hair is falling out. She has not tried anything else. Is there any other medication with less side affects that she could try? She has the arthritis in her fingers toes and her wrists.
Answer
There are quite a variety of medications available for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at this point. The spectrum of agents (drugs) can be discussed with the treating rheumatologist who can review the pros and cons of each. For mild disease, there are options that are less expensive and relatively non-toxic. For more severe disease, a biologic drugs is usually added to methotrexate (or other oral drug). A pediatric rheumatologist should care for children, if at all possible, given the more limited number of approved drugs for kids.
