Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease primarily characterized by synovitis accompanied by clinical manifestations which include fever, malaise, edema, pain, and stiffness in several joints. It is also associated with the damage of extra- articular organs like eyes, heart, lungs and blood vessels. The epidemiology of RA indicates a population prevalence of about 0.5% to 1% and can lead to severe joint damage and disability. Thus, the understanding of disease pathology, proper diagnosis and treatment are required from the early stages of the disease. The genome-wide analyses of the nucleotide sequences in the patients diagnosed with RA have identified the human leukocyte antigen D-related B1 gene (HLA-DRB1) as the most relevant disease-susceptible gene. While anti-inflammatory drugs and glucocorticoids were used as palliative therapy earlier, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are currently used to repress the immune abnormalities and to control disease severity. DMARDs are classified into synthetic and biological DMARDs among which synthetic group is further classified as conventional synthetic DMARDs (e.g., methotrexate) and targeted synthetic DMARDs (eg., JAK inhibitors). Proper use of this class of drugs has resulted in remission of Rheumatoid arthritis. These drugs aim to prevent structural damage to the joints and to prevent the worsening of the condition. By maintaining remission, the appropriate administration of these drugs has also been showed to prevent the disease progression over a long period. In the coming times, safer and more effective therapeutic measures are expected along with the precision medicine.