Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Rheumatoid Arthritis, including details on treatment, symptoms, causes, medication.

Glucocorticoids: action and new therapeutic insights in rheumatoid arthritis.

Kirwan J, Power L

University of Bristol Academic Rheumatology Unit, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol, UK. John.Kirwan@bristol.ac.uk

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To summarize the mechanism of action of glucocorticoids, the direction that current research is taking and what this might mean for clinicians. RECENT FINDINGS: New cellular actions of glucocorticoids have been identified, and offer new drug targets. There is increasing competition to find a glucocorticoid formulation or analogue that enhances therapeutic effects while reducing adverse effects. Clinically, there is increasing evidence for the disease-modifying effects of glucocorticoids, which makes these developments topical and relevant. Better understanding of the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis and the circadian variation in symptoms that is a hallmark of the disease may also affect the way that we use these drugs. SUMMARY: Glucocorticoids are about to enter a renaissance based on better understanding of how they work and novel approaches to new therapeutic targets.

Published 6 April 2007 in Curr Opin Rheumatol, 19(3): 233-7.
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