Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and destructive inflammatory disease resulting in disability. During the past 10 years, developments in medical science have improved RA treatment significantly, but have not proven curative. The most important developments over the past 10 years are the followings: 1) an emergence of new therapeutic agent against a specific single molecule or target, including biologic and chemical agents, 2) development and clinical usage of various outcome measures to detect disease activity more accurately and 3) introduction of new strategies in the treatment such as early and aggressive combination trials, depending on the disease activity. Over the course of these activities, we have been able to control clinical symptoms and signs more effectively, and slow the destruction of the joint, and finally improve the quality of life in RA patients. Here, we discuss the recent development of RA treatment and a perspective on future development.
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References
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