Edmonds J
Department of Rheumatology, St. George Hospital, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
J Rheumatol Suppl. 1994 Sep;41:3-5; discussion 5-7.
The International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have ratified a new classification of antirheumatic therapy comprising two major categories, as follows: (1) Symptom modifying antirheumatic drugs (SMARD) improve the symptoms and clinical features of inflammatory synovitis; (2) Disease controlling antirheumatic therapy (DC-ART) changes the course of rheumatoid arthritis. The DC-ART category, a new group and a new concept, poses a number of problems and challenges but also generates a basis for setting management objectives for rheumatoid arthritis. It is uncertain whether any of the current SMARD would fulfill the stringent DC-ART criteria.
