The effect of low doses of prednisolone compared with placebo on function and on the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

A double-blind trial of prednisolone in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using doses of zero, 3 mg and 5 mg is reported. Patients on a dose of 3 mg derived little sustained benefit but subjects on the higher dose showed some improvement which did not last more than two years. Mild suppression of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis occurred in both steroid-treated groups.