[Innovative approaches in therapy of chronic polyarthritis]

New approaches to the treatment of chronic polyarthritis are based on recent insights into the pathogenesis of this disease, in particular the involvement of cytokines and adhesion molecules in the process of joint destruction. These experimental approaches have been made possible by the development of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant fusion proteins, with the aid of which, cytokines such as TNF-alpha or IL-6 can be neutralized, or adhesion molecules and receptors on the cell surface blocked. Other therapeutic strategies include the induction of a specific tolerance to hypothetical disease-relevant antigens and autoantigens. Despite the good results seen in the pilot projects, however, the efficacy of most of these newly developed forms of treatment still need to be confirmed in long-term trials involving adequate numbers of patients.