Small molecule drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that primarily affects the joints but can also involve other parts of the body. In 2019, an estimated 18 million people across the globe were living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Among these individuals, approximately 13 million experienced varying degrees of severity in their RA symptoms. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a multifaceted systemic autoimmune disorder affected by both genetic predisposition and environmental factors, leading to inflammation in the synovial tissue and dysregulation of the immune system. This dysregulation is driven by abnormal cytokines and immune cells, which significantly contribute to the pathogenesis and advancement of the disease. Presently, treatments for RA mainly concentrate on relieving symptoms and achieving disease remission through the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). These DMARDs encompass conventional DMARDs (cDMARDs) like methotrexate and targeted DMARDs such as JAK inhibitors. Biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs) have also been used but have many limitations. This review explored the different signaling pathways crucial for RA development, as well as the small-molecule drugs that specifically target these pathways.