Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that affects millions of people all over the world. Current methods of treating RA consist of DMARDs and NSAIDs. These methods of treatment have been shown to have low efficacy rates and even cause debilitating side effects. This is concerning considering these are the standard forms of medication, and yet they do not yield consistent results, and can even be harmful to the body. Fortunately, there are alternatives to the standard practices, some of which are botanical medications. One such botanical alternative is ChondroT, which utilizes natural substances to create an effective drug with a promising toxicity profile and has shown to be effective in reducing inflammation within the joint. Other botanical drugs that have shown promising results are Harpagophytum procumbens with Gamma-Linolenic, and GLA with n-3 LC-PUFAs, which utilize their natural composition to treat RA, without the risk of side effects. Additionally, another treatment that has shown to be an alternative for the common methods, is the Anakinra treatment. The Anakinra treatment works by blocking the interleukin-1 protein, this, in turn, blocks further inflammation into the joint. Although these treatments do show promise, they have not gone under enough testing to be considered common treatments. These medications should only be considered if the standard medications do not work. Looking forward, future testing of these alternative medications would have to be done for them to be considered standard treatments, however, progress is being made in better RA treatments.
Research Paper by Abraham Kallivayalil. Grade 11, Bloomfield Hills High School, Michigan
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