According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), arthritis affects 19 million American adults. The CDC considers arthritis the leading reason for disability in the U.S. The CDC also expects that by the year 2030, the number of Americans with this disease will increase by approximately 40 percent. Several arthritis remedies are available.
Glucocorticoids
Glucocorticoids are hormones made in the area within the outer adrenal gland called the zona fasciculata. They improve the symptoms of arthritis and slow the progression of the disease, as explained in "Current Rheumatology Diagnosis & Treatment," by James O'Dell, M.D., Professor and Vice-Chairman at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Glucocorticoids are also very powerful in fighting inflammation, and arthritis is considered to be an inflammatory disease. Prednisone is the type of glucocorticoid usually used to relieve arthritis.
NSAIDs
The abbreviation NSAID stands for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. NSAIDs, as the name implies, fight inflammation but they are not steroids. In "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals," Roy Altman, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of California writes that NSAIDs interfere with an enzyme called cyclooxygenase. This leads to lower levels of a substance called prostaglandin, which is involved in inflammation. Lower levels of prostaglandins leads to less inflammation. Many NSAIDs are available, including naproxen, ibuprofen and indomethacin.
COX-2 Inhibitors
COX-2 inhibitors are very similar to NSAIDs. They fight inflammation and are nonsteroidal. Like NSAIDs, they also interfere with, or inhibit, the cyclooxygenase enzyme. But NSAIDs actually inhibit cyclooxygenase 1 and cyclooxygenase 2. COX-2 inhibitors only inhibit cyclooxygenase 2, or COX-2. As Dr. Altman explains in "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals," cyclooxygenase 1, or COX-1, protects the lining of the stomach. COX-2 inhibitors have no effect on COX-1. They only inhibit COX-2, so they fight inflammation without affecting the stomach. Celecoxib is a COX-2 inhibitor.
Adalimumab
Adalimumab is an antibody against a substance called TNF. Normally, plasma cells make antibodies. Antibodies have the job of attacking foreign substances in the body. But arthritis is an inflammatory disease, and TNF is an inflammatory substance. Adalimumab is a remedy for arthritis because it is made of antibodies that attack TNF, an inflammatory substance. It improves the symptoms and slows the progression of arthritis, according to Dr. O'Dell in "Current Rheumatology Diagnosis & Treatment."
Methotrexate
Methotrexate interferes with an enzyme called dihydrofolate reductase. This enzyme is necessary to create a form of folic acid that is needed in certain cells. Without this type of folic acid, the cells cannot form. In this way, methotrexate decreases the number of cells involved in inflammation. Dr. Altman writes in "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals," that methotrexate is anti-inflammatory at high doses.
Abatacept
As explained by Dr. O'Dell in "Current Rheumatology Diagnosis & Treatment," abatacept is made of part protein and part antibody. It blocks a signal that activates the T cells, a type of white blood cell involved in the immune response. Abatacept improves the symptoms of arthritis.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Arthritis
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Spotlight
- "Current Rheumatology Diagnosis & Treatment"; John Imboden, M.D., David Hellmann, M.D., John Stone, M.D.; 2007
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
