Proposal for biologic drugs therapy in rheumatoid arthritis

Reumatoidni artritis je kronična upalna reumatska bolest s prevalencijom od oko 1 %, karakterizirana sinovitisom, erozivnim promjenama zglobova, bolovima i oštećenjem funkcije. Etiologija bolesti nije poznata ali nastajanje takve autoimune bolesti je, zasigurno, posljedica genetskih i okolišnih čimbenika. Većina bolesnika s reumatoidnim artritisom liječi se standardnim lijekovima koji mogu modificirati bolest. Bolje razumijevanje bolesti dovelo je do razvoja bioloških lijekova s kojima želimo postići remisiju bolesti umjesto simptomatskog poboljšanja. Biološki lijekovi imaju brz i kontinuiran učinak, uz prihvatljiv sigurnosni profil. U ime Hrvatskog reumatološkog društva iznosimo prijedlog primjene bioloških lijekova u reumatoidnom artritisu.Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory disease with the prevalence about 1 %. Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized with synovitis, often evolve erosions of the joints, pain and functional deficit. Etiology is unknown, but the development of such autoimmune disease is due to genetic and environmental factors. Most of the patients with diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis use nonbiologic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs. Advances in the undersstanding of the disease process have led to the development of biological agents to treat rheumatoid arthritis. With the use of biologic agents we wish to evolve the goal of therapy from that of symptomatiic relief to clinical remission. Biologic drugs have documented, fast and continuous efficacy with generaly well accepted safety profile. On behalf of Croatian Society for Rheumatology we propose recommendations for the biologic therapy in rheumatoid arthritis