Taking adalimumab for Rheumatoid Arthritis
This newsletter is designed to help practising pharmacists understand the application of the basis sciences to practice concerning adalimumab. Lots of practical advice is based on pharmaceutical sciences but once you enter practice it can be hard to remember or find out the basis of why we advise patients in specific ways or why you or other health professionals should handle medicines in certain ways.
An effective anti-TNF
Adalimumab is an anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) drug used for the treatment of Rheumatic disease, specifically rheumatoid arthritis (Joint Formulary Committee., 2014).
Basics of Rheumatoid Arthritis and its treatments.
Around 70% of arthritis sufferers in the UK have rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Women are also more likely to develop RA than men, and commonly affects adults between ages 50 and 60. This condition is characterised by an insidious onset of pain, swelling of joints and morning stiffness. Arthritis is caused by inflammation of the synovial tissue of the joints, supposedly triggered by the presence of autobodies such as rheumatoid factors. The first line treatment for RA is a combination of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD). These slow down the progression of RA and treatment typically includes methotrexate in combination with another DMARD (e.g. sulphasalazine). Short term glucocorticoids are also used with DMARDS to manage flares of inflammation. Anti-TNF drugs
The type of treatment chosen depends on the type of arthritis and the effects it has on the patient as well as the severity of the disease. Other factors to consider are the age of the patient and the joints affected. Bearing in mind that different people exhibit different reactions to different medications, treatment in this case is individualized but includes a combination of joint protection methods and medication. For rheumatoid arthritis, the Initial treatment starts with non steroidal ant inflammatory drugs and other simple analgesic but as the inflammation progresses, slow acting anti rheumatoid drugs which are aimed at modifying the disease are introduced. They are added progressively as the inflammation progresses in order to suppress the process that leads to chronic inflammation (Amin 1995).
These types of disorders are sometimes treated by using TNF inhibitor. This inhibition is usually done with a monoclonal antibody such as Infliximab, an anti-TNF drug. Infliximab is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis by administering infliximab intravenously, in 6-8 week intervals (The British Pharmacology Society, 2011). Infliximab works by preventing TNF - alpha from binding to its receptors in the cell, as a result inhibiting TNF - alpha from carrying out functions in the immune response. Rheumatoid arthritis, is a disease associated with chronic joint inflammation, severe pain, stiffness, and swelling. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the body mistakenly attacks itself, in most cases inflammation is supposed to occur when the body is fighting off an invasion however with this disease, it occurs when the immune system malfunctions and starts to attack itself (Health Union,
use are drugs. The drugs that are used, tend to ease the symptoms and slow R.A. activity. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs include ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen sodium. These are the drugs that tend to ease the pain. Corticosteroids, disease- modifying anti rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), Biologics, and Jak inhibitors are drugs that tend slow R.A.s activity. Steroids and biologic agents such as Prednisone and adalimumab (Humira) are also recommended and used for people with R.A. All these different drugs are used to try and stop the progression of R.A. Most pharmaceuticals only reduce inflammation and pain. Although there isn't one particular drug at this point that can stop Rheumatoid Arthritis, drugs such as Ibuprofen do help and are considered the top drug that is used to treat inflammation and pain for R.A.
Huston states,” Joints are extremely damaged and the only thing that will help the pain at this point is replacing the joints.” She applies cold therapy to reduce pain in the joints and does range of motion three times. RA treatment includes disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), non-steroidal anti-inflammation drugs, and biologic therapy (Walker, 2012). Physician uses DMARDs as a common treatment for patient who just got diagnosis of RA, and the drugs have side effect that nurses need to educate patient about (Firth, 2012). Biologic drugs are another RA treatment available for patient. Biologic drugs are very expensive and their main target are cells, molecules, B-cell, and tumor necrosis that start the disease process. Hot and cold packs are common treatment used to reduce inflammation and allow client to complete their task, and move around (Walker,
Biologics first made their premier as a treatment option for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) over fifteen years ago, when Enbrel was first introduced. Now it is one of the front runners for treatment of RA. Many studies and articles, such as Palmer’s (2012) article out of the British Journal of Nursing, has shown how beneficial and impactful Enbrel has been as a treatment option. Enbrel.com proclaims how symptoms start to improve in as early as two weeks, with most people seeing improvements within three months, with even more improvements seen by six months. The article by Dhillon, Lyseng-Williamson, and Scott (2011) states that in several well designed trials in patients with early or long-standing
Drug Methonib (Melotreate SR Molactinib IR) bi-layered tablet (Kalyan Mannava, 2014) is currently under investigation for use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. This drug is used to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis in adults.
Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by excessive inflammation, particularly in the joints leading to irreversible damage (Contreras-Yáñez, Ponce De León, Cabiedes, Rull-Gabayet, and Pascual-Ramos, 2010). Pain and joint damage leads to limited mobility, decreased function and a reduced quality of life (Elliot, 2008). TNF blockers provide significant improvement in patient outcomes “by reducing pain,
Rheumatoid arthritis the most common type of inflammatory arthritis. More than 1.3 million Americans are affected. About 75% of those affected are women. between 1% and 3% of women are going to develop rheumatoid arthritis in their lifetime. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune disease means that the immune system attacks parts of the body. the joints are the main areas affected. chronic inflammation can cause severe joint damage and deformities. people who have rheumatoid arthritis develop lumps on their skin called rheumatoid nodules. they usaully develop over joint areas
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex disorder characterized by inflammation of the synovium (the thin lining of a joint). RA is a chronic disease in which genetic and environmental factors contribute to the breakdown of tolerance to self antigens.
A critique of an article published by The New York Times suggests a Breakthrough in treatment for joint pain of patients suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis. The article suggests that a drug known as a Biologic taken with Methotrexate may effectively treat pain and swelling symptoms caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis. Before critiquing the article, it is necessary to discuss the anatomy and physiology of Rheumatoid Arthritis so you may have a better understanding of the disease and the possible treatments. Rheumatoid Arthritis is classified as an autoimmune disease; it is a chronic inflammatory disorder in which the immune system attacks the tissues of the synovial joints of the individual who is suffering from the disease (Marieb and Hoehn 2013). The attacks cause inflammation to the synovial joints; the onset of inflammation brings both pain and swelling to the joint (Marieb and Hoehn 2013). Inflammatory cells appear in the joint cavity of the synovial joint and release inflammatory chemicals that destroy the body tissue at the joint (Marieb and Hoehn 2013). The disease is bilateral, meaning that if it affects a joint on one side of the body, for example the left wrist; chances are that it will affect the same joint on the opposite side of the body (Marieb and Hoehn 2013).
New criteria for identifying rheumatoid arthritis (RA) earlier in the disease progression was developed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in 2010 to allow for earlier intervention and treatment strategies therefore improving outcomes (Aletaha et al., 2010; de Hair et al., 2012; Villeneuve, 2013; Wasserman, 2011). This paper will explore prevention and treatment strategies for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).
Disease Overview. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is considered the most common autoimmune inflammatory arthritis disease diagnosed in adult patients and affects quality of life and leads to increased mortality rates. It is defined as a chronic, inflammatory, systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by symmetric, erosive synovitis that often leads to joint destruction, deformity, and disability. If left untreated, progression of RA could lead to irreversible joint damage, systemic effects including damage to the heart, lungs, & GI system. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent long term complications and increase odds of remission.
Infliximab is the first TNF antagonist approved by FDA (1999) and EU (1998). It was formed by chimeric IgG1 antibody and show outstanding treatment effect against Crohn’s disease. It neutralise the biological activity of TNF-α by binding with high affinity to the soluble and transmembrane forms of TNF-α, and inhibits the effective bind of TNF-α with its receptor. It falls in the class of “anti-TNF antibodies” and have the capability of lysing cells involved in the inflammatory process.
Advances in the treatment of RA have shown that active drugs should be given as soon as possible [1, 2]. This idea has been framed in the concept of a window of opportunity for the best results, window that extends only for the first months since symptoms onset [3-6]. The benefits of treatment in this window include increased response rates, decreased disease activity, prevention of bone erosions, less disability, increased rates of remission, even of drug-free remission, and larger improvement in health quality scores [3-6]. These benefits are of large significance, but are demanding for the rheumatologist because often it is difficult to diagnose RA when the first symptoms appear. This task has been facilitated by the development of new RA classification criteria in 2010 [2]. These criteria aim to define patients earlier in the disease course than the 1987 ACR criteria [7].
David is a 64-year-old male who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, (M06.9), along with psoriatic arthritis, hypertension and osteoporosis. His symptoms include diffuse joint pain with tenderness in the bilateral hand and knee with swelling, along with lower back pain. David has tried and failed various treatments including arava, plaquenil, lndomethacin, diclofenac, simponi, and orencia, which provided him with little to no relief. Enbrel is a biologic, like Humira, but unique—not a monoclonal antibody. Humira is a TNF blocker which stops inflammation while Enbrel blocks the protein called TNF (tumor necrosis factor) in the immune system which lowers inflammation, relieves symptoms and prevents disease progression. David’s Rheumatoid Arthritis