New treatments for rheumatoid arthritis - Available and upcoming slow-acting antirheumatic drugs

No single therapeutic agent has been found to be universally effective for rheumatoid arthritis, so regimens using combinations of drugs have become t he rule. Recently, several new agents with unique mechanisms of action have been introduced and found to produce Various degrees of clinical benefit. Among these agents are folate and purine antagonists, alkylating agents, an d antipyrimidines. Chimeric (mouse/human) monoclonal antibody to tumor necr osis factor-alpha and human recombinant interleukin-l receptor antagonist a ct ait approval for general use but have undergone considerable study.