There is currently no cure for rheumatoid arthritis – an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and bone erosion in the joints – although it can be controlled. Now, a new approach that targets drugs directly to affected joints while avoiding side effects shows promise in a mouse study.
Share on Pinterest Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation that damages the cartilage and erodes the bone of the joints, leading to pain and deformation.
The study, led by Dr. Ahuva Nissim, of Queen Mary University of London, is published in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy
Rheumatoid arthritis causes long term inflammation in the synovium – the thin layer of protective tissue that lines the joints and produces fluid that lubricates them. This long-term inflammation eventually damages the cartilage and erodes the bone of the joints, leading to pain and deformation.
Treatments that control rheumatoid arthritis currently involve painkillers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroids or another group of small molecule drugs called disease modifying anti-rheumatoid drugs (DMARDs) that suppress inflammation.
Newer biologic drugs that are designed to reduce inflammation by blocking inflammatory signals are effective, but unfortunately, they can cause serious side effects such as infection because they suppress the immune system in the rest of the body as well.
For their study, Dr. Nissim and colleagues developed antibodies that seek out and travel to damaged arthritic cartilage; they then fused a biologic drug to these antibodies and injected them into the body cavity of mice with induced arthritis in their joints.
The results showed the drug could be delivered specifically to the arthritic joints, with much-reduced side effects compared with a systemic approach that allows the drug to circulate in the whole body.