Abstracts by keywords: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Persistence problems in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: How can patient support programs (PSP) help?
The authors analyze the problem of low persistence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and discuss the principles and potential benefits of patient support programs.
26.01.2023
The body's native and adaptive immune system plays an important role in a variety of diseases such as psoriasis (PSO) [1], inflammatory bowel disease (CD/CU) [2] and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [3]. These autoimmune diseases result from disruption of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses, leading to an immune-mediated attack on the host tissue [4]. Recent decades have seen an increase in the incidence and prevalence of autoimmune diseases, highlighting the importance of appropriate treatment of these diseases [5]. Biologic drugs are treatments aimed at altering the course of autoimmune diseases and represent an important alternative to conventional treatments [6]. The main targets of biological drugs are cytokines (e.g. tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], interleukin-1 [IL-1] or -6 [IL-6]), B cells and costimulation molecules (e.g. T- Cell surface protein CD28 or cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 [CTLA-4]) [7]. Biological medicines have several advantages such as: B. an established long-term effect, a high selectivity for target molecules, positive cardiovascular effects, their suitability for patients with impaired kidney or liver function and maximum adherence to intake [8].