title: [Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: current and future].
abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic articular inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology. The therapeutic approach can be achieved at different levels: 1) symptomatic treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which can relieve articular pain and stiffness, 2) second-line drugs (or DMARD, for Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug) selected for their capacity to slow the rheumatoid process. During this last decade, sulfasalazine and methotrexate became an alternative choice to the "classical" slow-acting antirheumatic drugs such as gold, D-penicillamine or antimalarials. The extensive progress in basic immunology and especially in the immunopathology of RA has allowed the elaboration of a new approach to immunotherapy, aimed at molecular targets on cells from the "specific immunity" system or against mediators of the inflammatory process, such as the cytokines.
authors.affiliation: Service de Rhumatologie, Hôpital Erasme, Bruxelles.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bentin
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
vernacular_title: Le traitement de la polyarthrite rhumatoïde: présent et futur.