New drugs cut the disability of rheumatoid arthritis

AMBLER, Pa. (WPVI) -- About 15 million Americans have autoimmune diseases, and at least two-thirds of them are women. Rheumatoid arthritis is a major part of that, causing a major impact.

However, a new world of treatments can restore a good quality of life for many rheumatoid arthritis patients.

"I had perfect health in my life," notes Kate Zulak of Ambler, Pa.

Kate never had a medical problem till well into her 70s.

"All of a sudden, my left arm wasn't working," she recalls. "From there, it really went to my feet. I would wake up in the morning, and I could not walk to the bathroom."

At first, Kate's doctors thought it was a muscle or a spinal disk issue.

After six weeks of physical therapy failed to make a difference, blood work showed rheumatoid arthritis, or RA.

"It is a condition where the immune system is attacking the joints," says Dr. Enid Sun, a Temple Health rheumatologist.

Dr. Sun of Temple Health says inflammation is RA's hallmark.

"That would include swelling in the joints, redness, warmth," she says.

It differs from osteoarthritis in which joints deteriorate due to loss of cartilage. And RA doesn't affect the spine or hips like osteoarthritis does.

However, as Kate experienced, RA often hits the small joints of the hands and feet first.

"I can't make a fist anymore. I mean, the hands will close, but there's no pressure," she says.

The hand problems had some unintended consequences.

"I remember I could not put my trousers on. So I had to then purchase elastic trousers and things, because my hands could not do the button or the zipper," she says. "Dry eyes, dry mouth, It affects your whole body."

And it produces antibodies in the blood, which are markers for the disease.

Dr. Sun says there are many options for reducing RA inflammation.

"All the medications work by suppressing or altering the immune system in some way," she explains.

Kate tried several before finding success.

The first one, a chemotherapy drug, immediately helped her hands, and continued to work for six months. However, blood tests showed problems.

"I wasn't tolerating it, and there were liver issues," Kate says. "Put on another drug, which didn't work, and then another drug. And then a year ago, decided to try the biologics and that has worked in conjunction with a daily pill that I take."

Dr. Sun says development of a screening test for inflammatory markers could help reduce that trial and error.

"Maybe we can, kind of, more precisely pick a medicine that's going to work better for them," she says.

Kate says staying active - walking two or three miles a day, and 50 years of practicing yoga daily - help her mobility and function. So does controlling stress and not overdoing it.

"Patience is very important because it will be with you the rest of your life," Kate says.

While the exact cause of RA is unknown, Dr. Sun says the initial onset and flare-ups are probably triggered by a combination of genetics, and environmental factors like smoking and infections.