Methotrexate effective against AS?

Methotrexate has been mentioned as a possible drug for ankylosing spondylitis sufferers. Now a new Mexican study offers some direct evidence, through clinical trials, of methotrexate's effectiveness against AS. (Though I was surprised to see that the researchers referred to sulfasalazine as standard treatment, rather than good old, stomach-rotting NSAIDs. That's a gap of a few decades or so between sulfa drugs and cox-2s, isn't it?)