Do You Struggle with Arthritis Treatment Decisions?

Going to the rheumatologist can be overwhelming sometimes, especially when you are given multiple options for the treatment of your arthritis.  How can you decide what is best?  It is not like the days when aspirin was the standard of care.

Your rheumatologist will, of course, give you his/her professional opinion on which treatments you should pursue. However, it is ultimately up to you to decide if the treatment is best for you and your body.

Here are some tips to help you decide:

1. Make sure you understand your treatment options
2. What are the positive and negative aspects of those treatments? (Do your research)
3. How long before the treatments are expected to work?
4. Will your health insurance cover the treatment?  If not, can you afford the treatment?
5. Are you willing to commit to the treatment?
6. Will the treatment conflict with any other health problems?
7. Are these my only options?

The good news is that you do not need to make a decision immediately.  Making a decision without all of the facts does not do you or anyone else any good.

Ask for a couple of days to think about it.  Go home and take some time to go through the steps.  Do your research. Then, make the decision that is right for you.

One more tip: When deciding between multiple treatment options, you may want to write/type these steps in a more visually-appealing format such as a grid or spreadsheet.  This will help you to compare your options.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Cimzia Drug Approved for Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

Great news for rheumatoid arthritis patients!

UCB announced yesterday, May 14, 2009, that their Cimzia (certolizumab Pegol) drug was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis. 

According to UCB, “Cimzia® is available in an exclusively designed, patient-friendly, prefilled syringe resulting from the UCB partnership with OXO®. The new syringe carries the Arthritis Foundation(TM) Ease-of-Use Commendation.”

If Cimzia sounds familiar to you, it may be because the drug was already approved for the treatment of Crohn’s disease in April 2008.  This recent approval brings hope and another treatment option for patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.

See UCB’s press release for more information regarding the FDA approval.

As soon as the FDA approval announcement is released, it will be posted here for you.

Study for New Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug – Tocilizumab!

Hoffmann-La Roche is sponsoring a Phase III clinical trial for the drug, Tocilizumab.  It is for individuals who have moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have not had success with current biologic and non-biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). 

The study requires infusions of the drug every four weeks for a total of six infusions.

The size of the study is estimated to be about 750 individuals in 56 different locations.  You must meet certain criteria to be eligible for the clinical trial.

The recruiting for the trial has not started yet.  However, if you are interested in the study, do not wait long. 

Here are some steps to take if you are interested in participating in the study:

1. Check the Tocilizumab clinical trial information to see if you meet the eligibility criteria.
2. Check the list of study locations to determine if it will be conducted in your area.
3. Discuss it with your rheumatologist.
4. Call for more information, if necessary.  Identify study #ML22533 when calling (973)235-5000 or (800)526-6367.

Good luck!