PROSPECTS OF IMMUNOTHERAPY FOR RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

The main challenge in the development of new modalities for the treatm ent of rheumatoid arthritis is to enhance the specificity while reduci ng the adverse side-effects of therapeutics. Biotechnology provides a variety of reagents, such as monoclonal antibodies, recombinant cytoki nes, cytokine antagonists, and small peptides, with the potential to i nterfere with selected stages of the disease process in a highly speci fic manner. In addition, several new therapeutic approaches have emerg ed as a result of extensive research with animal models oi disease, in cluding T-cell vaccination and bone marrow transplantation. This artic le discusses current insights into the pathogenesis of rheumatic disea ses, focusing on rheumatoid arthritis. A number of new therapeutic mod alities for rheumatoid arthritis, in particular those acting on the im mune system, are discussed. Because it is not possible to provide a co mplete overview of all the developments in the field in limited space, a selection of strategies and modalities which are representative of the broad variety of immunotherapeutic approaches currently used are h ighlighted.