Monday 16 February 2015

Immunotherapeutic approaches in treating an autoimmune disease such as Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that can cause chronic inflammation of the joints and other areas of the body. In this disease an individual’s immune system (responsible for protecting ones health by attacking foreign substances like bacteria and viruses) mistakenly attacks joints. The inflammation caused by abnormal immune response can damage joints as well as the organs like heart. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment is the key to prevent joint and organ damage. Presently, immunotherapy in RA is divided into three parts: conventional disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs (cDMARDs), biological DMARDs (bDMARDs) and new agents for the treatment of Rheumatoid arthritis.

The main cause of Rheumatoid arthritis is not completely understood. To maintain function and health in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, earlier, insistent and guided immunosuppressive therapy was required to induce clinical remission.
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Conventional disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs (cDMARDs), are considered to act by crossing the cell membrane barrier; but the primary interaction might be intracellular, extracellular effects that are also directly linked. A few examples of drugs which come under this category are Leflunomide, Methotrexate and Sulfasalazine. Few drugs that fall in this category are Methotrexate, Sulfasalazine and Leflunomide.

In accordance to biological disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs), TNF inhibitors are the initiators of the biologic era. The most significant side effects of TNF inhibitors are local injection reactions and an increased risk of all types of infections, including tuberculosis. The established first generations of TNF inhibitors are Etanercept, Infliximab & Adalimumab.

The new agents for the treatment of RA include Tofacitinib, the first approved kinase inhibitor for use in patients with RA, which shows a combined inhibition of JAK1 and JAK3. In addition targeting JAK, inhibition of Syk by Fostamatinib, another tyrosine kinase, proved clinical efficacy and a tolerable safety profile and therefore proceeded to an extended Phase III program. Although efficacy of Fostamatinib has been reported, important side effects, such as neutropenia, elevated liver enzymes, infections, diarrhea and increase of blood pressure, need to be studied in detail, and results of the Phase III program are eagerly awaited.

Issues mentioned above might be of great importance in the next years to optimize the treatment of Rheumatoid arthritis. Reduction was always the major goal of immunotherapy,Antibody Drug Conjugate but for a long, time, it was simply not achievable. 

To get more information about immunotherapy related services you can contact Global Allied Pharmaceuticals (GAP) by visiting www.gapsos.com.

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