title: New therapeutics in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic disorder characterized predominately by a chronic inflammatory polyarthritis, with frequent progression to joint destruction and disability. Radiographic joint damage develops in as many as 75% of patients within the first 2 years of disease. For this reason, current RA treatment approaches have focused on early intensive therapy with multiple disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. The approval of new drugs for this indication has expanded the number of therapeutic options that can potentially allow for tight control of the inflammatory process.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.forename: E William
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: St Clair
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016207:Cytokines / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents