And we can take advantage of that by designing therapies that somehow block some of the interactions between the cells, or stop some of the inflammation at the cellular level in the joints themselves that are inflamed. Some of the newer drugs that have come out are medications like Arava, which is a brand name for leflunomide, a generic for it that's been out about a year. That's a medication that slows the turnover and growth of some of the inflammatory cells in the joints. It has been fairly effective for some patients. The newest category of medications that are coming out, are drugs that inhibit cytokines that Dr. Baumgartner discussed.
Cytokines are the proteins that cells use to signal from one to another.
Once we understand those signals, we can understand which ones we want to turn off to try to shut the process down. One of the drugs that came out, is a drug called Enbrel, or etanercept. It's a viable receptor for TNF, essentially it soaks up excess TNF in the joints between the cells, prevents it from getting to the cells that it's trying to reach, and in the process slows down or shuts down the inflammatory process in the cells. The outcome of that is reduced inflammation, reduced pain, and hopefully reduced damage to the joints over the long run. There are other medications and research coming down the road.