Drugs for Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment
Although there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs can cause the disease to go into remission. Additionally, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can help patients deal with the debilitating symptoms.
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DMARDs
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Disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs can be effective in slowing the progression of the disease if they are used within the first six months that symptoms appear. The most commonly used is methotrexate (Rheumatrex). Alternate drugs include hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), the gold compound auranofin (Ridaura), sulfasalazine (Azulfidine) and minocycline (Dynacin and Minocin).
NSAIDs
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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are available over the counter and by prescription to reduce pain and inflammation. Over-the-counter versions include Motrin and Advil and naproxen sodium, Aleve. Aspirin is also used to relieve pain and inflammation. Over-the-counter acetaminophen such as Tylenol and Excedrin only relieve pain. They are used less often for rheumatoid arthritis treatment.
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Steroids
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Steroids are primarily used to relieve acute inflammation and pain. Corticosteroids like prednisone and methylprednisolone (Medrol) are administered orally or by injection.
TNF-Alpha Inhibitors
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TNF inhibitors work by blocking cytokine, a cell protein that causes inflammation in joints. The TNF inhibitors that currently have FDA-approval for rheumatoid arthritis treatment include adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel) and infiximab (Remicaide).
Other Biologic Drugs
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Daily injections of anakinra (Kineret) or administering abatacept (Orencia) or rituximab (Rituxan) by IV can help suppress inflammation when TNF inhibitors do not work.
Immunosuppressants
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Immunosuppressants are primarily used in patients who do not respond to other drugs for rheumatoid arthritis. Immunosuppressants include includeazathioprine (Imuran), cyclosporine (Neoral and Sandimmune), cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) and leflunomide (Arava).
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