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Past, present and future drug treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus
Author(s) -
Mottram Patricia L
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
immunology and cell biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0818-9641
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1711.2003.01184.x
Subject(s) - rheumatoid arthritis , medicine , immunology , drug , autoimmune disease , autoimmunity , lupus erythematosus , mechanism (biology) , antibody , pharmacology , philosophy , epistemology
Historically, treatment of complex autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus has aimed to relieve symptoms, and in severe cases, use broad‐spectrum immunosuppressive treatments in attempts to induce permanent remission. Recent research into the causes of chronic autoimmune inflammatory activation have not only explored the mechanism of action of known therapies, but also provided a number of new targets for therapy, by identifying the cells, cytokines and signalling pathways activated during autoimmune antibody mediated processes. This review briefly outlines progress in the understanding of the autoimmune nature of rheumatoid diseases and the expansion of treatment options, from broad to specific immunotherapies for these closely related diseases.