SA 96 (N-(2-mercapto-2-methylpropanoyl)-L-cysteine) is a new sulfhydryl compound having a relatively similar chemical structure to Tiopronin and D-penicillamine. An open trial of SA 96 treatment (300 mg/day after meals for 16 weeks) was carried out in 11 patients with definite or classical rheumatoid arthritis and with therapeutic failure of previous gold salts and/or D-penicillamine therapy. Two cases were withdrawn from the trial, because of a side effect (hepatitis) in one patient and an unrelated illness in another. The results in the 9 patients completing the trial demonstrated statistically significant improvement in the clinical and laboratory measurements. A marked abatement of disease activity was noted in 5 of 9 patients who did not benefit from, or suffered a relapse during previous chrysotherapy and in 1 of 5 patients without benefit, or with relapse following previous D-penicillamine treatment. Among 4 patients who had discontinued D-penicillamine because of its intolerable cutaneous side effects, 3 patients completed the trial, with favourable results. The results of this trial seem to indicate that SA 96 is possibly of value as a slow-acting antirheumatic drug in some patients with therapeutic failure of gold salts or D-penicillamine.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.