Rheumatoid Arthritis: Thrilling Two Decades for the Disease

Fifteen years ago, a mere 20 percent pullback in arthritic activity was celebrated as remarkable improvement.

Fast-forward to 2011, and now, armed with a host of innovative medicines (the latest are “oral molecules”) and clearly defined outcome measures, rheumatologists are setting much more aggressive goals: To spot rheumatoid arthritis (RA) early, and act fast to stall or slow the inflammation before it ever has the chance to wreak havoc on joints.

What’s more, just last year, Swedish researchers suggested that a new, simple blood test might one day allow doctors to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis years before any symptoms arise. With that kind predictive power, physicians could make a proactive strike – potentially stopping RA in its tracks.

Developments like these underscore how dramatically the rheumatology field has evolved in the past decade, says Dr. Allen Anandarajah, medical director of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Early Arthritis Clinic – one of only about a half-dozen such centers recognized nationally.

“We now have a window of opportunity to make a life-changing difference for rheumatoid arthritis patients, especially if we begin treating symptoms within the first three months,” he says.

To learn more about the disease – and how much care and science have come in the past two decades – watch this week’s video clip, below.

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To learn more about URMC’s early arthritis clinic, click here. To schedule an appointment, call (585) 341-9200.