Rheumatoid arthritis: achievements and unresolved issues

Abstract

Success in a treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), associated with a development of new medications and improving treatment strategies, allows to achieve remission in many patients. Despite this a lot of theoretical and clinical issues remain, including a definition of the term "remission", its characteristics and types as well as approaches to optimal tactics of "symptomatic" and "pathogenetic" drug therapy at different stages of the disease. Use of a such tactics will allow to induce quickly a state of remission and maintain it for a long term. Further research is needed which should be directed to investigation of a heterogeneity of RA pathogenetic mechanisms and to elaboration of approaches to its early diagnosis as well as to improving methods for monitoring a disease activity, biomarkers of efficacy and resistance to therapy, and finally, to developing of a differentiated therapy, including a search for new “therapeutic” targets.