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Antirheumatic Drugs
Definition
Antirheumatic drugs are drugs used to
treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Purpose
Rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive
form of arthritis that has devastating
effects on joints and general health. It
is classified as an auto-immune disease,
because the disease is caused by the
body's own immune system acting against
the body itself. Symptoms include
painful, stiff, swollen joints, fever,
fatigue, and loss of appetite.
In recent years, there has been a change
in attitude concerning the treatment of
rheumatoid arthritis. Physicians now use
Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs)
early in the history of the disease and
are less inclined to wait for crippling
stages before resorting to the more
potent drugs. Fuller understanding of
the side-effects of non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has
also stimulated reliance on other types
of antirheumatic drugs.
Precautions
Many antirheumatic drugs such as, for
example, azathioprine (Imuran) and
methotrexate (Rheumatrex), are very
powerful drugs. They are usually
prescribed in severe cases, when all
other treatments have failed. Thus, they
may have serious side effects, so it is
important to be monitored closely by a
physician while taking any of these
drugs.
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
is a category of otherwise unrelated
drugs defined by their use in rheumatoid
arthritis to slow down disease
progression.
The term is often used in contrast to
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug,
which refers to agents that treat the
inflammation but not the underlying
cause. |
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