New Arthritis Drugs for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis Arthritis treatments aim to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and slow or stop joint damage to maintain or restore the patient's functional ability and quality of life. Arthritis therapies generally used today address the medical needs of many patients. However, these therapies are occasionally associated with harmful side effects ranging from mild to severe.
Medical research continues to search for effective, fast-acting treatments with fewer side effects.
The foundation for these new drugs was laid in basic biomedical research supported by the National Institutes of Health. Therefore, drugs in this category reduce joint pain and inflammation with reduced risk of gastrointestinal ulceration and bleeding. These products mimic a naturally occurring substance in the body called hyaluronic acid by providing lubrication to the knee joint, thus permitting flexible joint movement without pain. This device is designed to remove harmful antibodies from the patient's immune system, thus lowering disease activity associated with severe rheumatoid arthritis. The procedure takes 2 hours and is performed weekly at a health care facility for 12 weeks.