Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at this time, but rheumatoid arthritis treatment options, like leflunomide (Arava) have been created to manage the pain and swelling that occurs in the joints. There are currently no real effective treatment options due to the serious adverse effects that are associated to rheumatoid arthritis prescription drugs, such as leflunomide (Arava). New rheumatoid arthritis drugs are being studied and are becoming available to patients through clinical trials. These new rheumatoid arthritis drugs are being developed to stop the symptoms and progression of RA with a greater effectiveness, decreased side effects, and a more manageable dosage.

Newer Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are being tested and developed for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in addition to gene therapy. DMARDs can improve joint function and are often used along side NSAIDs. Better understanding of how DMARDs can work to alleviate rheumatoid arthritis symptoms are being uncovered with a better effectiveness and fewer side effects. There are six categories of experimental DMARDs including, anti-metabolites, cytokine inhibitors, protease inhibitors, chemotaxis inhibitors, complement inhibitors, and others.

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