Rheumatoid arthritis destroys cartilage and bone around the joint.
It can often lead to disability, but now the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug that can help keep the disease in check.
The new treatment is called Actemra.
It helps control the swelling in the patient's joints caused by rheumatoid arthritis.
It works by blocking a part of the body's immune system that can trigger inflammation.
Philip Mease, M.D., a Rheumatologist says, "Actemra is the first medication which works by inhibiting an important inflammation molecule known as Interleukin-6. It does so by binding to the receptor for Interleukin-6 thus inhibiting or stopping the likelihood of Interleukin-6 stimulating the immune cells to cause the inflammation that we know of as rheumatoid arthritis."
Click on the related link to this story for more information about the drug.
