Emphasizes the importance of early intervention in RA with focus on pharmacologic treatments of RA. Detailed information on the various medications employed in treatment, including corticosteroids, NSAIDs, DMARDs, biologic agents, and combination therapy, is reviewed, including evidence-based data on efficacy, safety, side effects, and monitoring requirements. Clinical evaluation is presented, including lab findings, joint scoring, diagnostic criteria, and radiographic outcomes. Surgical options and the management of advanced RA are discussed.

This thoroughly updated second edition of 'Fast Facts: Rheumatoid Arthritis' provides an easy-to-read overview of how the condition is thought to develop and how it is diagnosed, monitored and treated. Written by two leading UK and US rheumatologists, it covers the many recent developments in this field, including: • Recently published classification criteria • The emerging role of anti-CCP autoantibodies • The latest developments in ultrasound and MRI • The association between RA and cardiovascular disease and lung disease • New concepts of undifferentiated arthritis and treatment to remission • The importance of early referral and new biological therapies 'Fast Facts: Rheumatoid Arthritis' provides a well-referenced international perspective on this condition. It is a 'must read' for all healthcare professionals caring for patients with this debilitating inflammatory joint disease. Contents: • The normal joint • Etiology • Pathogenesis • Epidemiology • Clinical features • Investigation • Assessment • Management - traditional measures • Management - biological therapies • Therapeutic developments

Our goal for this book is to examine the contemporary therapy of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from the increasingly important perspective of impact upon quality of life, costs and long-term health outcomes. For too long the focus has been on short term, symptomatic, and surrogate indicator outcomes. Yet RA is a life-long disor der with the majority of impact on an individual patient many years following onset. Further, even in the short-term, researchers and rheumatologists have tended to emphasize measurements of disease activity such as joint counts, ESR and physi cian's opinion as to the amount of disease activity present. It is only relatively recently that measures of structural damage, quality of life and impact on broad domains of health have been given increasing emphasis. Also, the significance of early treatment of RA in order to optimise long-term outcomes has a relatively short history [1]. We have been focussed on the disease processes as surrogates for long term outcomes. Until the short-term process measures are validated as surrogates of long-term effects we should also turn our attention to outcomes of disease and the impact of our management on those outcomes [2). Inour view, this book is especially timely. We are at the dawn of a revolution in the management of RA and other complex immunological inflammatory disorders because their molecular, genetic and environmental mechanisms are being unrav elled. Inthe process, we are revealing a substantial number of novel and significant targets for pharmacotherapy.

Written by a world-renowned expert in rheumatology this book serves as a refresher for GPs and hospital doctors containing practical diagnostic and treatment advice. Reviews clinical developments and guidelines, and places them into everyday clinical practice Stresses the importance of early and aggressive treatment Concise but comprehensive whilst being loaded with illustrations including imaging examples all presented in pocket sized format Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common and serious inflammatory arthritis, resulting in joint destruction, functional impairment and increased mortality. The outcome of the disease, however, has improved considerably in recent years with the availability of effective therapies and the recognition that early intensive treatment strategies result in better outcomes. This book has been designed to increase physician awareness of the importance of early and intensive treatment – a key pharmaceutical strategy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Since the first edition appeared, treatment options in RA have progressed rapidly; new strategies include the early initiation of therapy, combination treatments, and the introduction of targeted therapies. This comprehensive yet concise handbook contains expert opinion on treatment with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and targeted biologic therapies, plus a review of therapies on the horizon.