Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 11, Issue 5, 2005

We wish to thank all the authors for their contribution to this year's edition on Rheumatoid Arthritis in Current Pharmaceutical design. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex autoimmune disease of unknown etiology. The authors assembled in this review will help shed new light on the recent molecular advances in RA at the basic science level and at the clinical level. Meinecke et al. [1] will review the impact that synovial fibrob Read More

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory joint disease with systemic involvement that affects about 1% of the Western population. The progressive destruction of affected joints is a major characteristic of the disease and distinguishes RA from other acute and chronic arthritides. The etiology of RA is unknown, and a variety of genetic and environmental factors are being discussed as potential causes of the disease. Ho Read More

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune chronic inflammatory joint disease, characterized by macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration, proliferation of synovial fibroblasts, and joint destruction. Macrophages are critically involved in the pathogenesis of RA. Not only do they produce a variety of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, but they also contribute to the cartilage and bone destruction in RA through mul Read More

Many chronic inflammatory diseases are associated with deregulated intracellular signal transduction pathways. Resultant pathogenic interactions between immune and stromal cells lead to changes in cell activation, proliferation, migratory capacity, and cell survival that all contribute to inflammation. Increasing efforts are now being made in the design of novel therapeutic compounds to interfere with signaling pathways Read More

Regulation of angiogenesis occurs in the context of particular microenvironments and is governed by a sensitive balance between angiogenic and anti-angiogenic mediators. Under normal physiologic conditions, the expansion of existing blood vessels is held in check suggesting that homeostasis is maintained by a predominance of angiostatic factors. In the rheumatoid arthritis joint, it is probable that the expansive a Read More

Rheumatoid arthritis is chronic systemic inflammatory disease that is characterized by joint swelling and leukocyte recruitment into synovial tissue. Within the peripheral blood and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis there are many soluble mediators that function together to create an inflammatory environment ultimately responsible for the synovial pannus formation and subsequent joint destruction. One suc Read More

The production of autoreactive antibodies from self-reactive B cells results in the formation of immune complexes that deposit in tissue and fix complement, contributing to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Earlier mouse models emphasize the importance of autoreactive antibodies formed against “self” proteins that serve as a source for T cell-mediated immune response, stemming from cross-reactivity a Read More

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory arthritis with a population prevalence of approximately 1%. Pharmaceutical treatment includes both anti-inflammatory medications and disease modifying drugs (DMARDs) that impact the course of the damage associated with this disease. Traditional DMARD therapy includes immunomodulatory agents such as methotrexate, used both alone and in combination. Recently av Read More