[Treatment of rheumatic diseases with intraarticular drug delivery systems]

Present work provides an overall study about the types and the medicinal treatment of the rheumatic diseases especially the intraarticular formulations. Due to the localized nature of the joint, intraarticular injections are very favourable drug delivery systems. It has a big advantage over the oral medication; the systemic side effects are kept away. The review shows two types of the rheumatic diseases on the example of the healthy joint: the joint damage (osteoarthritis) and the inflamed joint (rheumatoid arthritis). There are many active ingredients for the treatment of the rheumatic diseases but the number of the intraarticular products is limited. At present are only formulations with hyaluronic acid or glucocorticoid on the market. Several physiological and biopharmaceutical aspects must be considered for the design of intraarticular injections. During and after the production many quality requirements have to be complied. On the market the formulations in solution or in suspension are available, which provide a short-term effect. The aim of the developments is to achieve long-term effect based on nano- or microparticles.