title: Emerging biologic drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: This article reviews the role of emerging biologic drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Besides anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and anti-interleukin (IL)-1 agents (Infliximab, Adalimumab, Etanercept and Anakinra) whose clinical efficacy is now established, new drugs have been proposed for the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis patients not responding to conventional treatments. These approaches include the blockade of B-cell activity with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (Rituximab) and the inhibition of T-cell activation with fusion protein CTLA4Ig. Moreover, promising results have been obtained in animal models utilizing suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) and dominant-negative TNF variants to inactivate TNF signaling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine (Di.M.I.), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, n.6-16132 Genova, Italy. puppof@unige.it
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Puppo
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Murdaca
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghio
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Indiveri
mesh_terms: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018951:Antigens, CD20 / Q000276:immunology*; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D018951:Antigens, CD20; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha