Rheumatoid arthritis (R.A.) is a type of arthritis of unknown origin that causes joint pain, damage and deformity. In 2005 alone, it afflicted 1.3 million adults in the United States. Although there is no cure for R.A., many studies and clinical trials during the past decade have resulted in a growing number of new treatments that hold promise for helping symptoms and even causing remission of the disease.
RoActemra
RoActemra (generic name: tocilizumab) is a possible breakthrough treatment for R.A. patients. It provides quick relief from symptoms such as pain, with half the patients in remission--that is, with minimal signs and symptoms--after one year. It works by blocking a compound called IL-6 in the rheumatoid system, which in turn leads to reduced inflammation and fatigue. The drug also appears to stop the disease from progressing.
Masitinib
Masitinib is a new drug that has been shown to significantly reduce the severity of active R.A. It works by inhibiting the activity of mast cells, which are involved in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Although it has side effects, the worst last only three months, and researchers hope long-term treatment with masitinib will be possible.
Gene Therapy
Researchers in the United States and Germany injected rheumatoid arthritis patients with a gene known as the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), which blocks the protein linked to causing pain in joints. In the studies, it significantly reduced pain and swelling in just four weeks. In one case, pain and swelling in the treatment joints disappeared while the other joints in the same patient continued to show signs of R.A.
Tenascin-C
Scientists have discovered that an immune system compound called tenascin-C, a crucial part of joint inflammation, is present in higher levels in the joints of R.A. patients. In the laboratory, mice that genetically can't make tenascin-C suffered only brief inflammation and had healthy joints, whereas normal mice had persistent inflammation and joint damage. Scientists hope they can develop new therapies to interfere with the tenascin-C activation of the immune system and thereby reduce the painful inflammation.
Tags: compound called, immune system, pain swelling, rheumatoid arthritis, United States