Pharmacologic therapy of osteoarthritis.
This article presents a brief review of the most current therapies that are used for the relief of the symptoms related to osteoarthritis. The agents used either systematically or locally are described, providing the rationale for their usage in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Moreover, new therapies that have reached clinical evaluations and that can possibly reduce or stop the progression of the disease--namely the inhibitors of metalloproteases--are presented. Overall, it is obvious that significant progress has been made toward the development of new therapeutic agents to reduce the symptoms as well as the structural changes of the disease.
Pelletier
J P
JP
Osteoarthritis Research Unit, Centre Hospitalier de l'Universit de Montreal (CHUM), Hopital Notre-Dame, 1560 Sherbrooke St. E., Montreal, Quebec, H2L 4M1, Canada.
Choquette
D
D
Haraoui
B
B
Raynauld
J P
JP
Rich
E
E
Fernandes
J C
JC
Martel-Pelletier
J
J
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular; D008297:Male; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D015507:Drugs, Investigational; D010936:Plant Extracts