[The role of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis].

The destructive process seen on the cartilage and on the sub-chondral bone of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, which is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology, is in part unavoidable. The aim of the treatment is not only to reduce articular inflammation and/or to relieve pain, but also to prevent or delay articular damage and to improve quality of life of rheumatoid patients. The use of new available drugs, with a modern therapeutic approach, seems to be apt to improve considerably the outcome in rheumatoid patients.