New Help For Arthritis Patients

There may be help for the more than two million Americans who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, reports CBS News Health Correspondent Dr. Emily Senay.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new medication for active rheumatoid arthritis called Arava.

This is the first time that patients who suffer from the disease will be able to take a medication in pill form. Although it doesn't cure the disease, Arava can relieve the pain of swollen joints and even slow their deterioration.

However, the FDA warns that pregnant women or women of childbearing age should not take the drug. In studies on animals, concerns were raised about possible defects.

Another drug for active rheumatoid arthritis, Enbrel, will come before an FDA advisory panel Wednesday. The committee will decide whether or not to recommend its approval. Enbrel also provides relief from rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. It works by attacking the biological causes of the disease rather than just treating its symptoms.

Until now, patients with mild forms of the disease have often been treated with ibuprofen. Those with more advanced cases have been given drugs like Pregnezone, Methotrexate, or Plaquenil. All of these drugs generally work on the entire immune system. Enbrel is the first drug of its kind to specially target just the parts of the body that become inflamed from rheumatoid arthritis.

Researchers believe that they will eventually find a cure for the disease. They are optimistic that the new "targeted" class of arthritis drugs in development now - treatments that target the inflamed parts of the body - may lead to a cure for rheumatoid arthritis.

Reported by Dr. Emily Senay