Frontiers in Medicine (Aug 2022)

Non-pharmacological treatment in difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis

  • Judit Majnik,
  • Judit Majnik,
  • Noémi Császár-Nagy,
  • Georgina Böcskei,
  • Tamás Bender,
  • György Nagy,
  • György Nagy,
  • György Nagy,
  • György Nagy

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.991677
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

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Although the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has improved remarkably with new pharmacological therapies, there is still a significant part of patients not reaching treatment goals. Difficult-to-treat RA (D2TRA) is a complex entity involving several factors apart from persistent inflammation, thereafter requiring a holistic management approach. As pharmacological treatment options are often limited in D2TRA, the need for non-pharmacological treatments (NPT) is even more pronounced. The mechanism of action of non-pharmacological treatments is not well investigated, NPTs seem to have a complex, holistic effect including the immune, neural and endocrine system, which can have a significant additive benefit together with targeted pharmacotherapies in the treatment of D2TRA. In this review we summarize the current knowledge on different NPT in rheumatoid arthritis, and we propose a NPT plan to follow when managing D2TRA patients.

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