Sustained DMARD-free remission in rheumatoid arthritis - about concepts and moving towards practice.

ABSTRACT: Sustained DMARD-free remission (SDFR) is the best possible outcome in RA. It is characterized by sustained absence of clinical arthritis, which is accompanied by resolution of symptoms and restoration of normal physical functioning. Therefore it's the best proxy for cure in RA. The mechanisms underlying SDFR-development are yet unidentified. Hypothetically, there are two possible scenarios. The first hypothesis is based on the concept of regaining immune-tolerance, which implies that RA-patients are similar at diagnosis and that disease-processes during the disease-course shift into a favorable direction, resulting in regaining a state in which arthritis is persistently absent. This could imply that SDFR is theoretically achievable for all RA-patients. The alternative hypothesis is that RA

SUBMITTER: Verstappen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7615888 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature