Rheumatoid Arthritis

What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that causes pain, swelling, stiffness, and loss of function in the joints. It occurs when the immune system, which normally
defends the body from invading organisms, turns its attack against the membrane lining the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis has several features that make it different from other kinds of arthritis (See "Features of Arthritis" below). For example, rheumatoid arthritis generally occurs in a symmetrical pattern, meaning that if one knee or hand is involved, the other one is also. The disease often affects the wrist joints and the finger joints closest to the hand. It can also affect other parts of the body besides the joints.  In addition, people with rheumatoid arthritis may have fatigue, occasional fevers, and a general sense of not feeling well.

The course of rheumatoid arthritis can range from mild to severe. In most cases it is chronic, meaning it lasts a long time—often a lifetime. For many people, periods of relatively mild disease activity are punctuated by flares, or times of heightened disease activity. In others, symptoms are constant.

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Features of Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Tender, warm, swollen joints
• Symmetrical pattern of affected joints
• Joint inflammation often affecting the wrist and finger joints closest to the hand
• Joint inflammation sometimes affecting other joints, including the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, ankles, and feet
• Fatigue, occasional fevers, a general sense of not feeling well
• Pain and stiffness lasting for more than 30 minutes in the morning or after a long rest
• Symptoms that last for many years
• Variability of symptoms among people with the disease

Our Current Studies for RA:

Below is a summary of our current RA trials. If you are interested in learning more, simply click on the trial's name to answer a few qualifying questions and request a contact by our research staff:


NEW!!!  JADW Study: 
The purpose of this study is to determine whether baricitinib 4 milligram (mg) once daily is superior to placebo in the treatment of participants with moderately to severely active Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response to a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor, despite ongoing treatment with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (cDMARDs).


NEW!!!  JADX Study:
The purpose of this study is to determine whether baricitinib 4 milligram (mg) once daily (QD) is superior to placebo in the treatment of participants with moderately to severely active Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) who have had inadequate response to or are intolerant to at least 1 conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (cDMARD)(cDMARD-IR [inadequate response] participants) and who have never received a biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD).


Precision
This study looks at the cardiovascular safety of Celecoxib, Naproxen, and Ibuprofen in patients with Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid Arthritis who have or are at high risk for Cardiovascular Disease.  Compensation for time and travel is available.