[Bone and cartilage destruction in RA and its intervention. Biological agents].

The combination therapy of biological agents such as anti-tumor necrosis factor monoclonal antibody and methotrexate resulted in the arrest of joint destruction in most of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and even repair of damaged joints in some patients. The fact that the combination therapy leads to less joint destruction than methotrexate monotherapy in patients with comparable disease activity indicates the beneficial effects of biological agents for patients without remission state. Furthermore, the RISING study revealed the importance of sufficient dosing of biological agents such as infliximab because of the different requirement for the dosage of biological agents among patients with rheumatoid arthritis.