Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has developed over the years. Earlier, there used to be one general medication: disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). But it was found that these drugs are not always effective for all patients. Tha is where Biologics came in for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Biologics are some proteins derived out of human genes. They are mainly used when other drugs are rendered ineffective for the treatment. They are also different from other medicines in a way that unlike the usual medications for rheumatoid arthritis, they do not affect immune system broadly. Rather, biologics target a specific part of the immune system which is causing inflammation. As a result, the number of side effects caused by biologics is less as compared to other drugs.
Along with it being useful, biologics also have a number of side effects and disadvantages. Biologics are known to cause rashes, headaches, flu-like illness, nausea, and fever. Normally, great medical attention needs to be given to the patients using biologics. Professional medical help must be taken. Usually, they also require vaccinations before taking biologics. But receiving the live vaccine is never an option. Various chronic diseases like tuberculosis may also occur by the use of biologics. Also, biologics are not for people suffering from heart problems. In addition to all the aforementioned disadvantages, biologics are expensive as compared to other traditional medications. Even though there is no effect on the fertility ability of the animals, the same cannot be said for sure about humans. Most of the biologics are given by the use of injections or intravenous infusion. The only exception here is Xeljanz, which can be simply inhaled from the mouth. Other brands of Biologics include Orencia, Humira, amjevita, Kineret, cimzia, Enbrel, erelzi, Remicade, and Rituxan.
Even though biologics for rheumatoid arthritis are expensive, they are expected to be more effective and have fewer side effects than the traditional drugs for rheumatoid arthritis. But, what matters at the end is that expert medical advice must always be taken with regards to which medicine has to be taken and the manner in which it is to be taken. The precautions to prevent the side effects must be taken too.