Contribution by new therapeutic strategies to the quality of outcome of drug therapy in rheumatoid arthritis

Contribution by New Therapeutic Strategies to the Quality of Outcome of Drug Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis: We know today that long-term outcome of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has not been greatly influenced by conservative treatment regimens like ''graduated plan'' or ''pyramid'' used ten years ago. Necessarily, new therapeutic strategies had to be established. They include starting of DMARD treatment immediately after diagnosing RA and continuing it as long as possible, early aggressive treatment in cases with high activity and/or high risk of bad prognosis, and early use of combination DMARD therapy. Good short-term results of these strategies suggest the possibility of better effectiveness also for long-term outcome. Possibly agents currently under investigation, e.g. cyclosporine or biological interventions like cytokine antagonists, may contribute further to improved treatment results in the future.