In recent years, the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis has undergone tremendous changes due to methotrexate and biologics in large part. Until a decade ago, avoiding joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis was not realistic for rheumatologist. However, prevention of joint deterioration is now possible, and the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in long-term has been able to improve by advances in treatment. However, there are still many problems to be overcome before achieving the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. All of review articles presented on this book are explaining treatment, basic research, and patient care of rheumatoid arthritis with innovative perspective and ideas. I hope that the ideas that have been described in these articles help the reader to resolve the outstanding issues in rheumatoid arthritis.

Biologics have revolutionized the treatment of autoimmune diseases due to their efficacy, speed of onset, and tolerability. The development of new agents and expanded use of existing agents continues to be a highly active area of investigation among rheumatic diseases, with a multitude of innovative therapeutic strategies in various stages of development. Although the story of treatments continues rapidly, therapeutic research in some conditions is hindered by the rarity of the disease, variation in phenotype, and concerns about toxicity. This fast-paced development of therapeutics,necessitates immediate evaluation of individual biologic agents and their best use in the new treatment regimens./div This book provides an inclusive approach with the existing evidence concerning effectiveness and implications on the usage of biologics in treating various rheumatologic disorders. It also covers the evidence behind the rational use of these agents in varied autoimmune diseases. This manual also offers a complete overview of the existing & futuristic biologic treatments, and draws recommendations on how to standardize the most suitable regimen for a specific patient in the context of current guidelines. The handbook of Biologics in Rheumatology serves as a present and concise compendium to the modern therapeutic developments in the field./div This book is likely to benefit clinicians, residents, fellow and other healthcare workers dealing with rheumatological disorders, and also hard-core Rheumatologists, who are looking for a quick recap of Biologics of their interest. /div

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder involving the chronic inflammation of affected joints which lead to the distortion and eventually destruction of the articular tissues. Clinically, many therapeutic methods are being used for RA treatment. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroid, and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are the three main categories of intervention approaches. Among which DMARDs, targeting mainly the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, demonstrated high efficacy because of its direct drug action that alter the underlying disease mechanisms rather than simply to mediate symptoms relieve. However, the use of DMARDs also accompanying some unwanted adverse side effects, in particular, the development of refractoriness, which hampers the successful rate of treatment. In this chapter, the conventional RA drugs will be reviewed, focusing on the currently used and latest development of DMARDs. Novel methods that could improve RA pathogenesis will also be introduced. Because of the critical role of refractory RA, the progress of the disease to develop resistance to standard drug treatment will also be described. Finally, innovative RA therapeutic methods inspired by researches concerning the pathogenesis and contemporary treatments of RA will be discussed.

Up-to-the-minute drug therapies, medical and surgical options, and physical therapy evaluations and treatments for arthritis are featured in this useful new reference. Sufferers of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis--two of the most widely diagnosed articular disorders encountered by health care professionals--are often left disabled and require close medical supervision. The contributors to this timely book--a physical therapist, a physician, a surgeon, and a clinical pharmacist, all of whom work closely with arthritis patients--examine the pathology and clinical features of the disease as well as report on successful and innovative management techniques.