Inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor for rheumatoid arthritis.

Clinical trials of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have produced consistently outstanding results with no major side effects in patients refractory to other available treatments. The improvement, determined using either the Paulus or the American College of Rheumatology evaluation criteria, is rapid and has persisted over the 2 years of followup data currently available. Trials of 2 drugs are reviewed--infliximab, currently approved for treatment of Crohn's disease, and etanercept, recently approved for RA therapy.