Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments On The Horizon

This article is part of the Arthritis Archives.

Dateline: March 13, 1997

Newer Treatment Approaches For Rheumatoid Arthritis

Following about 15 years without new treatment options, there now is a resurgence of experimental treatments for rheumatoid arthritis. At the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Orlando, Florida in October 1996, three new experimental treatments for rheumatoid arthritis were announced.

These new treatments target the disease at its source, whereas in the past, drug treatments such as methotrexate and corticosteroids such as prednisone, were used (and still are used) to suppress the body's hyperactive immune system.

The hyperactivity in the immune system in rheumatoid arthritis can be explained as a few misguided T cells stimulating other immune system cells, known as macrophages, to attack the joints. The macrophages produce killer proteins which attack cartilage and cause inflammation. It is a destructive cycle with no known cure.

About The Treatments

A biotech company in San Diego, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, has utilized a method which targets all active T cells with a custom-made antibody. The custom-made antibody temporarily deactivates the T cell. Seemingly even though the antibody cannot distinguish between normal and misguided T cells, the treatment appears to be successful.

Other researchers believe that rather than target the T cells, focusing on the killer proteins produced by the macrophages is more important. Immunex, a company in Seattle, has been researching one of these killer proteins, called tumor necrosis factor. The treatment developed by Immunex uses genetically engineered proteins that absorb excess TNF (tumor necrosis factor) and disturb the destructive cycle.

Another development, by Amgen of Thousand Oaks, California, targets interleukin-1 which is another inflammatory protein. The methodology is similar to that being used with TNF.

It is expected that if these three treatments are approved by the FDA, possibly they would appear on the market in a couple of years. It must be stated clearly though that none of these new treatments is regarded as a cure for the disease. Pain and stiffness have returned to patients within weeks or months after stopping these treatments. However, as with any new development comes new optimism.

Editor note: Since this article was first published, many new drugs have now been FDA approved for rheumatoid arthritis.

Related Resources

_{Source: TIME magazine, October 28, 1996
First published: 03/13/1997}