Modern medicines for Joint Pain & Arthritis

Joint pain can be bothersome. And if it persists even after trying some basic natural remedies then medication is the only way to get relief from joint pain. Some commonly used drugs to treat joint pain are

Nonsteriodal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are the least potent drugs used for arthritis or joint pain. These drugs relieve pain by reducing inflammation. They do not contain steroids.

Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) are the main drugs used for treating rheumatoid arthritis. They slow the progression of the disease. They are much more effective than NSAIDs but also have more side effects. Methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall) is the most widely used of these drugs.

Biologic Response Modifiers (Biologic DMARDs) are often prescribed to patients who have failed to respond to DMARDs. They may be used alone or in combination with DMARDs such as methotrexate. They modify or block destructive immune factors such as tumor-necrosis factor (TNF). Current anti-TNF drugs include Infliximab (Remicade), etanercept (Enbrel), and adalimumab (Humira).

Other biologic response modifiers include the interleukin-1 antagonist anakinra (Kineret), the T-cell co-stimulation modulator abatacept (Orencia), and rituximab (Rituxan), which targets CD20-positive B cells.

Corticosteroids or steroids are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs that are used to quickly reduce inflammation. These drugs include prednisone and prednisolone.

Immunosuppressant drugs are used for disease that recurs or does not respond to other drugs. They inhibit the immune system and have potentially very serious side effects. These drugs include azathioprine (Imuran) and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)