ABSTRACT
During the past decade, the approach to the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has undergone remarkable change. Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, and conventional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including methotrexate, sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine, and others continue to be used successfully in some patients. However, the introduction of highly effective treatments, including leflunomide and the biological response modifiers, etanercept, infliximab, and anakinra, have dramatically altered therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Some recent studies evaluating combination of therapies have also shown substantial efficacy. These advances will be discussed in this chapter. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation will be discussed in Chapter 43.
