Alternatives in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: reasons for using abatacept

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an aggressive and progressive disease in which the prognosis has improved dramatically since the arrival of biological therapies at the end of the nineties. Nowadays, the main management strategies focus on early diagnosis and treatment, which is now more feasible due to the development of new classification criteria orientated towards diagnosis and classification of early and undifferentiated disease. The implementation of early, individualized and intensive treatment, with the aim of achieving remission or a low disease activity state, has notably improved the results obtained in a great percentage of patients, especially in those with a poorer prognosis. Abatacept is one of the biotechnological agents that have become part of the first line therapeutic armamentarium for early and aggressive RA. The efficacy and safety profile of this drug are very promising for the treatment of patients with RA. (C) 2011 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.