Emerging Approaches for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Outlook

Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that causes pannus, thickened synovium, joint bone reabsorption, and acute impairment, and increases the death rate. Many people with RA now live better lives as a result of recent improvements in treatment, which have dramatically slowed the disease's course. However, a significant portion of patients continue to either be non-responsive to existing treatments or have developed a resistance to them. Nanotechnology is becoming a more and more intriguing tool for investigating novel strategies, ranging from treating various disease states to tackling complicated conditions. Objective: The primary goal of the work was to outline the research activities on versatile nanocarriers, like polymeric micelles, nanoparticles, liposomes, etc., with controlled/sustained drug release patterns fabricated to elevate the effectiveness of drug delivery. Method: This review mainly focuses on emerging strategies to deliver various nanocarriers encapsulating anti-rheumatic drugs, enzymes, genes, phytoconstituents, etc. It also includes up-todate progress regarding patents and clinical trials filed for the treatment of RA. Results: In most of the recent studies, nanocarrier-based drug delivery has gained attention worldwide and led to the development of new approaches for treating RA. A better understanding of pathophysiology and signalling pathways helps to select the antirheumatic drug. The encapsulation of active moiety into the novel nanocarrier enhances the solubility of insoluble drugs. It restricts the exposure of the drug to the non-inflamed site using various targeting strategies, like active, passive, or biomimetic targeting and stimuli-responsive carrier systems to enhance the drug delivery mechanism. Conclusion: A brief description of current RA treatments using nanocarrier technology is provided in this paper, along with predictions for potential enhancements to the nanotherapeutic regimen.