What are Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) used for?

Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs or DMARDs address the underlying mechanisms that cause inflammation and arthritis.

The most commonly used DMARD is Methotrexate. It is important to note that the doses that we talking about here for the treatment of arthritis are a fraction of those that are used to treat certain forms of cancer.

It is also important to note that DMARDs have a slow onset of effect and may take six to twelve weeks to reach their maximum potential. It is therefore important for individuals to persevere with treatment.

For a large proportion of persons affected by arthritis, DMARDs are sufficient to adequately control disease. However, for a proportion of people, we need to move on to biologic treatments.