14 DAY TRIAL // Rheumatoid arthritis is a very aggressive and painful condition that affects a large number of people worldwide and is among the leading causes of disability in developed countries. This form of arthritis is the second largest cause of work disability after heart disease in the US and the first such cause in the UK, affecting women much more than men. The disease, which can begin to manifest itself anywhere between the ages of 20 and 45, is a chronic disease in which the body's own immune system starts to attack the joints, lungs and skin, causing pain, inflammation and in time, a substantial loss of functioning mobility in most patients.
For the time being, rheumatoid arthritis has no known cure and sufferers are usually prescribed a combination of drugs that help alleviate the symptoms and make the condition manageable. However, recent research offers hope for the millions of people struggling to cope with this painful disease and promises to have a new, breakthrough arthritis drug on sale in as little as six months. The drug in question is called tocilizumab and is seen by many doctors as a very good way to treat worsening pain and disability - as trials have proved that it was three times more efficient in stopping the auto-immune disease from continuing its terrible, pain-inflicting progress than any current standard therapy.
In fact, scientists claim that the new drug can improve the disease symptoms by 20 % after just six months. Given that there is no known cure for this condition and that a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is usually seen as a life sentence, six months is not a very lengthy interval - on the contrary. Tocilizumab is a versatile drug that can also be suitable for patients with more advanced forms of arthritis. The drug is not currently licensed in Europe, but it will be on the shelves in British pharmacies within 6 months.
Professor John Isaacs from the University of Newcastle took part in the UK trials of tocilizumab and is very optimistic: "This is the first time that a biological medicine for rheumatoid arthritis has shown superior efficacy over the current standard of care whilst ensuring large numbers of patients achieve disease remission - the ultimate goal in the treatment of this devastating disease", he says. "This study confirms that tocilizumab is an extremely exciting and novel treatment for patients with rheumatoid arthritis", he added. Stay tuned for more news on this revolutionary treatment.