Updates on Novel Treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Chronic joint inflammation is a hallmark of the systemic inflammatory illness known as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which ultimately causes severe disability and early death. Around 1% of people worldwide are affected by it, and women are 2-3 times more likely to be affected than males. Preclinical RA, genetic influences and environmental influences all have a role in the etiology of the illness. Since there is no recognized treatment for RA, achieving the lowest disease activity and, if possible, recovery remains the key goals of care. The literature on the various RA therapy options, their mechanisms of action, side effects and innovative drug delivery systems that are currently being used for medication administration are highlighted in this review, with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug delivery systems receiving the most attention. The most popular medications from each class are reviewed, including corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs), disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biologics. Traditional medication therapy has various drawbacks, including inadequate bioavailability, first pass metabolism, gastrointestinal enzyme degradation, limited solubility and permeability, food interactions and toxicity. Innovative drug delivery technologies such as microspheres, nanoparticles, dendrimers, liposomes and others, hold great promise since they have been able to overcome the drawbacks of traditional drug delivery systems. The current review compares and contrasts numerous unique drug delivery methods that have been investigated for using anti-rheumatic medications, as well as the benefits of using these novel methods over traditional drug delivery methods.