Van spalk tot slimme spuit

Over the course of the past 30 years the outlook for patients with rheumatic arthritis (RA) has changed substantially.

The careful ‘wait-and-see’ attitude of rheumatologists of the past has been replaced by early and intensive intervention in patients with early RA.

These days it is possible to bring about remission in half of all patients with, among others, the new medicines – the ‘biologicals’.

Auto-antibodies are now detectable in the pre-clinical phase of RA; this means that in the future it will be possible to trace people with a raised risk of developing RA.

Conflict of interest: Professor B.A.C. Dijkmans has received remuneration for giving lectures and, through his institution, research grants from Schering-Plough, Abbott and Wyeth. Financial support for this article: none declared.