New treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis or RA is, in essence, an autoimmune disease that involves the body’s immune system, which normally protects the body by attacking foreign bodies such as viruses and bacteria. The most common rheumatoid arthritis has been shown to affect the wrist, hand, elbow, ankle, foot and knee joints. In most cases, the effects on the joints are symmetrical. That is, if one hand or knee is affected, the other hand will experience similar symptoms. In addition, RA is a systemic disease that can affect the entire body as it can also affect the body’s systems such as the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Common treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis

The goals of treating rheumatoid arthritis are:

• Relieve the disease or stop the inflammation.
• Prevents damage to organs and joints
• Relieve symptoms
• Improves overall well-being and physical function
• Reduce complications in the long run

Physicians usually employ a combination of strategies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, including:

• Early aggressive treatment- The first strategy for RA treatment, as they say, is to stop or reduce inflammation as soon as possible.

• Aim for remission- Doctors usually refer to inflammation during RA as disease activity. Therefore, the ultimate goal of this series of treatments is to stop the progression and achieve remission. Ultimately, this means that there should be no signs or symptoms of active inflammation. One strategy designed to achieve this goal is known as “treatment of the target.”

• Tight control- Placing the activity of RA disease at a lower level and keeping it there is known as “strict control of RA”. Studies show that tight control can slow down the pace and even prevent joint damage. RA medications include several medications used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Some of these are primarily used to relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, while others are used to slow or stop the progression of the disease and to control structural damage.

• Symptom Relief Drugs- These are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs known as NSAIDs and are available over-the-counter or by prescription. These drugs are usually used to relieve the inflammation and pain of arthritis. NSAIDs usually include naproxen sodium, ketoprofen, ibuprofen, and more. Doctors may prescribe celecoxib, a type of NSAID known as a COX-2 inhibitor, for people who have or are at risk for gastric ulcer. These are considered safer for the stomach. In addition, these drugs can be taken orally or applied to the skin as patches or creams, just above the swollen joints.

• Drugs that slow the activity of the disease include:
  • Corticosteroids- These drugs include prednisolone, prednisone, and methylprednisolone. These are fast-acting and powerful anti-inflammatory drugs. These are used in RA to control potentially damaging inflammation while waiting for DMARDs and NSAIDs to take effect. Because of the risk of side effects from these drugs, doctors generally prefer to use them only in low doses in the shortest possible time.

  • DMARD- It is an acronym for disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug. DMARD is a drug that changes the course of RA. Traditional DMARDs include azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, leflunomide, sulfasalazine, hudroxycholorkin, and methotrexate. These drugs can be given orally, by self-injection, or as an infusion at the clinic.

  • Biologics- These are drugs that are a subset of DMARD. However, biologics have been found to work faster than DMARDs and are given by injection or infusion in the clinic. Because these drugs target specific stages of the inflammatory process, they do not wipe out the body’s entire immune response like other treatments for rheumatoid arthritis. Biopharmacy can correct, slow, or stop the progression of rheumatoid arthritis in some people, even if other treatments have not helped much.

  • JAK inhibitor- This is a new subcategory of DMARD, known as JAK, a JAK inhibitor that blocks the Janus kinase pathway, which is involved in the body’s immune response. Tofacitinib is one such drug in this category. In addition, unlike biologics, JAK inhibitors can be given orally.

  • Surgery- Rheumatoid arthritis surgery may not be necessary, but it can be an excellent option for patients with permanent injuries that limit mobility, daily activities, and independence. Joint replacement It can effectively restore function and relieve pain in joints severely damaged by RA. Surgical intervention involves replacing damaged parts of the joint with plastic and metal components. Knee and hip replacement The most common, and sometimes elbows, wrists, shoulders, ankles, and other joints may also be subject to replacement surgery.

New treatment for rheumatoid arthritis

There is a new drug called Remicade that has proven to be a major advance in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Not only does this drug relieve pain, it can also prevent the progression of RA. Remicade can stop the inflammatory changes that characterize a potentially crippled RA condition and can cause permanent damage to the joints, causing chronic pain and disability. RA is a progressively debilitating condition that usually develops among people between the ages of 25 and 50. Remicade was developed by researchers when they discovered that the main trigger for inflammation was TNF, a tumor necrosis factor, a chemical produced by the immune system. People who develop rheumatoid arthritis produce excessive levels of TNF, which stimulate cells and cause joint inflammation. Remicade is specially designed to chemically turn off TNF and thereby neutralize its effects. However, although Remicade is not a cure for rheumatoid arthritis, it has been shown that the joints recover from post-traumatic arthritis because the inflammation has stopped. Remicade, commonly available as a subcutaneous injection similar to insulin injections for diabetics, can be self-injected twice a week at home or infused once every two months in the hospital. ..