Manipulation of Rheumatoid Arthritis Macrophages Primed for Inflammation

Manipulation of Rheumatoid Arthritis Macrophages Primed for Inflammation

Arthritis is a leading cause of joint deformity that affects roughly 15% of the population. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic and progressive form of inflammatory arthritis that typically affects 1 in 100 people and twice as many women as men. RA is associated significant co-morbidities including atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity and reduces patient mobility and quality of life. The economic cost of RA both individually and societally is an estimated cost of ¤19,596 per patient/year, and overall cost of ~¤544 million. Despite significant advances in the treatment of RA such as the development of new targeted biotherapies in recent years, there is still no cure for RA Patients of this debilitating disease require life-long treatment. In addition, it is currently impossible to predict which patients will develop severe, erosive disease and those who will respond well to treatments such as Methotrexate, Rituximab or Tofacitinib, resulting in a ‘trial and error’ approach to treatments. Therefore, better understanding of the disease at the site of inflammation ‘the synovial membrane’ will allow for the development of a ‘personalised medicine’ approach to therapy.