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Methotrexate (MTX) remains a good choice for many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It was first used in the mid-1980s for patients with advanced disease who didn't get the help they needed with nonsteroidal antiinflammatories (NSAIDs).
Today, it is often combined with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors discovered in the late 1990s. Together these drugs give better control of disease activity.
Two new treatment options for RA came out just this year (2006): Abatacept and Rituximab. These drugs are able to change the way the immune system responds to RA. Both are given intravenously (IV). Studies so far have been on patients who did not get a good response to MTX with TNF inhibitors.
Other drugs remain in various phases of clinical trials. We can expect to see results of these drugs published over the next three to five years. Watch for information on: HuMax-CD20, Belimumab, Atacicept, Tocilizumab, Certolizumab, and Golimumab. These drugs work either by interrupting or blocking immune system signals.
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