Orthopedics Medical News about Rheumatoid arthritis, Therapies, Inflammatory

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Therapeutic options for rheumatoid arthritis
Expert Opinion in Pharmacotherapy, 08/14/09

Feely MG et al. - Emerging therapies that target specific cytokines and growth factors in the inflammatory cascade of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) offer a potent new means of modifying disease activity, but many questions regarding their use remain unanswered.

Methods

A systematic literature review through PubMed to highlight:
- Recent advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of RA, and
- Capability of biologically engineered treatments for RA

Results

RA is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder primarily targeting the synovium
Unchecked disease activity is associated with significant morbidity and increased mortality
Common strategy for the treatment of RA:
- Methotrexate either as monotherapy, OR
- In combination with a variety of conventional and/or biologic DMARDs
  with the goal of inducing remission of active disease
Choice of which agent(s) to use is based upon patient-specific criteria:
- Activity of disease
- Comorbidities
- Patient preferences, and costs etc.