Any help for Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Pharmacological treatment of RA can be divided into disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), anti-inflammatory agents and analgesics [6]. DMARDs have been found to produce durable remissions and delay or halt disease progression. This is not true of anti-inflammatories and analgesics.

DMARDs

DMARDs can be further subdivided into xenobiotic agents and biological agents. Xenobiotic agents are those DMARDs that do not occur naturally in the body, as opposed to biologicals.

Xenobiotics

Xenobiotics include:

* azathioprine
* cyclosporin A
* D-penicillamine
* gold salts
* hydroxychloroquine
* leflunomide
* methotrexate (MTX)
* minocycline
* sulfasalazine (SSZ)

The most important and most common adverse events relate to liver and bone marrow toxicity (MTX, SSZ, leflunomide, azathioprine, gold compounds, D-penicillamine), renal toxicity (cyclosporine A, parenteral gold salts, D-penicillamine), pneumonitis (MTX), allergic skin reactions (gold compounds, SSZ), autoimmunity (D-penicillamine, SSZ, minocycline) and infections (azathioprine, cyclosporine A). Hydroxychloroquine may cause ocular toxicity.

Biological agents

Biological agents include:

* tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) blockers – etanercept (Enbrel), infliximab (Remicade), adalimumab (Humira)
* interleukin-1 blockers – anakinra

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced on December 23, 2005, that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Orencia (abatacept), the first selective modulator of a costimulatory signal required for full T-cell activation, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Orencia is expected to be available for initial commercial use by the end of February 2006.

Anti-inflammatory agents and analgesics

Anti-inflammatory agents include:

* glucocorticoids
* Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs, most also act as analgesics)

Analgesics include:

* acetaminophen
* opiates
* lidocaine topical

Other therapies

Other therapies are weight loss, occupational therapy,physiotherapy, joint injections, and special tools to improve hard movements (e.g. special tin-openers).

Severely affected joints may require joint replacement surgery, such as knee replacement.

Exercise can help. Look into your local Y or fitness centers or so forth and see what sorts of classes they offer. Also consider looking into local chiropractors. They can do more than simply cracking your back these days.

I just answered this for someone else go to http://www.ganeden.com and you can get a free 2 week sample af arthritis advantage I was taking glucasamine and chondritan and this works 100% better also you will be able to buy this at k-mart and a few drugstores tell her to get the sample hopefully it will work for her as much as it helped me

Exercise is the safest. It sounds painful and feels painful at first but stick with it simple exercise works.
Chemically the best drug I’ve had for arthritis was prednisone.

RA is a tough one, try Acupuncture or Herbal Medicine. They have a treatment for "steaming bones" .. if you mother wants to take the cocktail of pharmacuticals, she can but it will mask the pain and may just get worse, never be cured. I wish you mom well.

I have RA so I know what your mom is going through. Prednison which you said she is already doing…that will help – and belive it or not, try Tylenol Arthritis. Talk with her doctor, about some of the injections they have come out with (Humira, Enbrel, Remicade) – Water therapy also helps… any movement will lessen stiffness if a problem..I go the gym 4 days a week and I can tell it has really help me in the past 4 months. I have had RA for 9 years…I am 25 now, I hope this helps and will keep her in my prayers.