Rheumatoid arthritis
Yamanaka, H.
Nihon Rinsho. Japanese Journal of Clinical Medicine 68(10): 1896-1899
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 0047-1852 PMID: 20954336 Document Number: 645379
Etiology of rheumatoid arthritis(RA) has not been clarified, however many candidate molecules for the target of RA treatment have been identified. Among those, regulation of TNF or IL-6 using antibodies or receptor molecules has brought a paradigm shift in the therapeutic strategy of RA and has become a standard therapy in daily practice. Many targeted therapy are now in the development for the treatment of RA, however, those target molecules are deeply involved in the immune function, and inhibition of these molecules may increase the susceptibility for infections. Also, using these expensive drugs for this chronic disease raises a pharmacoeconomical issue. There are many issues remaining to be solved.