Mechanisms underlying DMARD inefficacy in difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis: a narrative review with systematic literature search

Autor: Nadia M T Roodenrijs, Paco M J Welsing, Joël van Roon, Jan L M Schoneveld, Marlies C van der Goes, György Nagy, Michael J Townsend, Jacob M van Laar
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Rheumatology. 61:3552-3566
ISSN: 1462-0332
1462-0324
Popis: Management of RA patients has significantly improved over the past decades. However, a substantial proportion of patients is difficult-to-treat (D2T), remaining symptomatic after failing biological and/or targeted synthetic DMARDs. Multiple factors can contribute to D2T RA, including treatment non-adherence, comorbidities and co-existing mimicking diseases (e.g. fibromyalgia). Additionally, currently available biological and/or targeted synthetic DMARDs may be truly ineffective (‘true’ refractory RA) and/or lead to unacceptable side effects. In this narrative review based on a systematic literature search, an overview of underlying (immune) mechanisms is presented. Potential scenarios are discussed including the influence of different levels of gene expression and clinical characteristics. Although the exact underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown, the heterogeneity between individual patients supports the assumption that D2T RA is a syndrome involving different pathogenic mechanisms.
Databáze: OpenAIRE