Do biologic drugs work for all RA patients? They have revolutionized the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, but they may not be a complete solution for everybody. In this episode, Dr. Rachael Bailey examines several studies to find an answer.

We discuss in this episode:

• A proper definition of remission and its importance for a correct interpretation of remission rates
• Biologic drugs effectiveness in relation with age
• The importance of a personalized approach to treatment
• How adopting lifestyle habits like an anti-inflammatory diet and regular exercise, can help improve treatment outcomes

Do biologic drugs actually work and how often? So these cutting-edge medications have revolutionized the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, but they also come with their fair share of concerns. So my name is Rachel Bailey, PhD, and as a medical researcher for Rheumatoid Solutions, my goal is to empower you with the right information to achieve maximum health and minimum RA symptoms.

So the first study that I want to bring your attention to is a systematic review and meta-analysis that was published just last year. And this study revealed that 67% of rheumatoid arthritis patients who were treated with biologics achieved complete remission after a follow-up period of 6 to 12 months. Now, the results of this analysis, which encompassed a total of 16,934 rheumatoid arthritis patients who had been treated with biologics might seem remarkable to you, but it’s crucial that we take a closer look and understand that these remission rates might not be as straightforward as they first seem.

So remission as defined in these studies signifies a significant reduction in symptoms and inflammation, but it doesn’t guarantee a complete absence of disease so some level of residual disease activity might still be present. And even these minimal symptoms can have a significant impact on an individual’s overall well-being and their quality of life. Also, this study revealed another interesting trend that the effectiveness of biologics tended to decrease with age. So this finding emphasizes the importance of considering age as a factor when we’re thinking about how well a medication is likely to work. And it also highlights the need for adopting a more personalized approach to treatment that takes into account individual circumstances such as age.

The next study that we will consider, compared the effectiveness of some of the most common biologic drugs on both older patients and disabled rheumatoid arthritis patients. And the results of this study showed a range of effectiveness and this varied between 23% and 30%. This finding highlights the reality that biologics may not yield the same results for everybody. Another study examined the efficiency of a specific group of biologic drugs, and these are called JAK inhibitors, this study looked at the effect of these drugs on patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. According to the study findings, the rates of efficiency of JAK inhibitors in this group ranged from approximately 20% to 43.4%. So this is a similar kind of range of effectiveness as we’ve seen in the previous studies. And it suggests that a significant proportion of these patients didn’t actually respond to the treatment and they may not achieve the desired responses or remission with JAK inhibitors alone. This finding highlights the fact that JAK inhibitors might not be a universally effective treatment for everybody, and some patients might need to use these in combination with other treatments.

So based on the current evidence that we have at the moment, while biologic medications are a valuable tool in managing rheumatoid arthritis, it’s important that we acknowledge they might not be a complete solution for everybody and it may take some time to find a suitable medication. And this might include Lilypad hopping from one drug to another in the process until we find an effective biologic drug. And even if you do find a drug that’s effective for you, it’s efficiency might start to dwindle over time, that can leave you starting to search for another alternative treatment again.

So science supported lifestyle habits can provide an additional avenue for patients who do not respond optimally to biologic medications. By adopting these lifestyle habits, individuals can help to address underlying factors that contribute to their disease and activity, and symptoms. So when we’re talking about science-supported lifestyle habits, we’re thinking about things like adopting an anti-inflammatory diet, increasing our exercise, managing stress levels, and also prioritizing our sleep. And all of these interventions can help to reduce inflammation, to support overall health, and potentially to even enhance the effectiveness of medications such as biologic drugs. By incorporating these science-supported lifestyle habits, we can help to empower ourselves to take control of our own health and also potentially to enhance the effectiveness of any treatments that we are currently using. This can help to improve treatment outcome and also lead to a better quality of life.

So if you are looking for a program that will cover all aspects of lifestyle changes that can help with your rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and how you can incorporate these to work in parallel with your biologic drug treatment. Then head on over to RheumatoidSolutions.com to find out more. In the meantime, if you found this video helpful, please subscribe to our YouTube channel, leave a comment below and will see you in the next video.