| Medications for Scleroderma, Arthritis,
Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases |
| This page was written by Shelley Ensz, and has not yet been medically edited. See Disclaimer. |
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| Overview of Medications |
| There are a variety of medications used for scleroderma, arthritis, and autoimmune and rheumatic diseases. Which medication to use is dependent upon factors such as the patient, the symptoms, the doctors, and in some cases, the patient's insurance company (what is approved and what isn't). |
| This section covers specific medications generally used to treat these diseases as well as alternative treatments that have been proven to relieve some of the symptoms associated with scleroderma. It also covers some of the treatments that have proven to be ineffective for scleroderma and other rheumatic diseases. |
| To learn about the medications and treatments for specific symptoms, such as gastrointestinal and pulmonary involvement, visit the page for that particular scleroderma symptom. |
| Autoimmunity. Autoimmune disease is a disorder that occurs because of autoimmunity--a disease that is caused by an immune response to the body of the patient himself or herself. There are several ways to treat autoimmune diseases. ISN. |
| Medication Websites |
| Clinical Trials and Open Enrollments for Scleroderma ISN. |
| Free Medication Programs. ISN. |
| Medicine Guide. Medicine Guides provide members of the public with up to date, reliable and understandable information about medicines. Medicine.org.uk. |
| Specific Drug Information Prescription drug information for consumers and professionals. Drugs.com |
| About Medications |
| FDA Issues Final Rules to Help Patients Gain Access to Investigational Drugs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration published two rules today that seek to clarify the methods available to seriously ill patients interested in gaining access to investigational drugs and biologics when they are not eligible to participate in a clinical trial and don’t have other satisfactory treatment options. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 08/12/09. |
| The Possible Dangers of Buying Medicines Over the Internet. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to warn consumers about the possible dangers of buying medicines over the Internet. Some Web sites sell prescription and over-the-counter drugs that may not be safe to use and could put people's health at risk. U.S. Food and Drug Administation. February 2009. |
| Are You Taking Medication as Prescribed? According to the National Council on Patient Information and Education, many patients are not taking their medicines as prescribed. This can lead to unnecessary disease progression, reduced functional abilities, a lower quality of life, and even death. FDA Consumer Updates. June 9, 2009. |
| Pharmacists Encourage Patients To Seek Their Guidance When Choosing OTC Medications. With more than 100,000 nonprescription medications on the market and more than 1,000 active ingredients, it's critical that patients consult their pharmacist to maximize the benefits from medications and minimize the potential for harmful drug interaction and/or side effects. Medical News Today. 02/25/09. |
| Beware unapproved use of prescriptions. Most physicians and pharmacists have a secret they don't share with patients. The Food and Drug Administration is in on it, and so are drug companies. One out of five of the prescriptions written in this country are for unapproved uses. Roanoke.com. 03/19/08. (Also see: Disability Resources) |
| Medication Interactions |
| Vitamin C and Chemotherapy: Bad Combo? The vitamin C blunted the effectiveness of the chemotherapy drugs from 30% to 70%, depending on the dose of vitamin C and the chemo drug. WebMD. 10/01/08. (Also see: Alternative Treatements) |
| Fruit Juices Block Common Drugs. David G. Bailey, PhD, reports that grapefruit, orange, and apple juices decrease the absorption of several important medications:WebMD. 08/19/08. |
| Chemical Culprit in Grapefruit–Drug Interactions Identified. Natural grapefruit contains a substance that affects the activity of an enzyme in the intestines and liver that processes these medications. This could result in a dangerous increase in the level of the drug in your blood. John Hopkins. 02/05/08. (Also see: Diet) |
| Alternative Medicine, Herbs, Vitamins and Scleroderma |
| Scleroderma and Alternative Medicine, Herbs, and Vitamins What natural, healthy things can you do to help improve scleroderma? ISN. |
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| Anesthesia |
| Neuroaxial anesthesia in a patient with progressive systemic sclerosis. Every aspect of anesthetic care may be altered or hindered by the pathogenesis of disease. Although the choice of regional or general anesthesia is unclear, to choose combined spinal epidural anesthesia may be useful. PubMed. BMC Anesthesiol. 2006 Oct 17;6(1):11. |
| Antibiotics |
| Antibiotic interaction may raise heart death risk. Doctors have known for years that the antibiotic erythromycin can, in rare cases, spark an abnormal and sometimes fatal heartbeat. However, combining it with several common drugs--Cardizen, Diltiazem, Tiazac, Dilacor, verapamil, Calan, Isoptin --may dramatically worsen that risk. Expired article from The New Zealand Herald. 09/09/04 (Also see: Hypertension) |
| Ineffective Treatments: Minocycline and Scleroderma ISN. |
| Ineffective Treatments: D-Penicillamine and Scleroderma ISN. |
| Clinical Trials and Open Enrollments for Scleroderma ISN. |
| Hormones |
| Hormone therapy in rheumatic diseases. The optimization of the therapeutical use of steroid hormones such as glucocorticoids, estrogens or D hormone is now possible following recent basic and clinical research achievements. C. Maurizio. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 13 January 2010. |
| Immunostimulants (Imiquimod) |
| Imiquimod: Potential risk of an immunostimulant. This case highlights the potential risk of using imiquimod cream (an immunostimulant) in a patient who has a condition requiring immunosuppression, such as autoimmune disease or an organ transplant. PubMed. Australas J Dermatol. 2004 May;45(2):123-4. |
| Mainstream Medications |
| Mainstream medications are the pharmaceuticals that are normally prescribed by rheumatologists for the treatment of scleroderma and other rheumatic diseases. These include DMARDs, immunosuppressants, NSAIDs, statins, and steriods. |
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| Medicinal Metals: Gold, Platinum |
| Gold and some other metals have been proven to suppress the inflammatory process. DMARDs such as Auranofin and Gold sodium thiomalate are forms of gold used to treat rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. ISN. |
| Scleroderma Treatments - General |
| Unfortunately, there's no proven treatment and no cure for scleroderma yet. However, there are treatments for many of the symptoms (plus experimental Treatments & Clinical Trials, and Research Registries for patients. |
| Scleroderma Treatments. There have been significant advances in scleroderma treatment research. This research has led to treatments that not only improve the symptoms, but the overall quality of life. ISN. |
| Scleroderma Symptoms ISN. |
| Vaccinations and Scleroderma |
| Vaccinations such as flu shots and pneumonia shots are recommended for patients with scleroderma and other autoimmune diseases. However, before receiving a vaccination of any kind, patients should consult their physicians. |
| FDA Warnings on Medications and Treatments |
| FDA warnings and alerts have been issued for some of the medications and treatments used for scleroderma and other rheumatic disease. ISN. |
