MEDICATIONS FOR RA (RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS): CYTOXANGeneric available: noTablet size: 25, 50 mgIntravenous administration possibleDose: variableEffective within: two weeks to three monthsCyclophosphamide is by far the most potent and dangerous of the immunosuppressive drugs used in the treatment of RA. Like azathioprine, it was first used as a form of cancer chemotherapy. Its effectiveness in the treatment of RA is undisputed, but its potentially severe side effects preclude its use in the treatment of mild or moderate RA. Cyclophosphamide is generally reserved for the treatment of unusually severe or life-threatening complications of RA such as vasculitis, Felty’s syndrome, and other complications with organ involvement. In these very serious situations the benefits of cyclophosphamide outweigh the risks.
Side effects of cyclophosphamide Cyclophosphamide has essentially the same potential side effects as azathioprine. Because cyclophosphamide has the most potent effect on the bone marrow and immune system, the occurrence and severity of these side effects are higher than in people taking azathioprine, although the precise risk is difficult to ascertain. We do know that a low white blood cell count occurs so frequently during cyclophosphamide therapy that it is often considered an expected effect rather than a side effect. The risk of severe blood abnormalities and infection increases in proportion to the dose and length of time which cyclophosphamide is prescribed.Unlike azathioprine, cyclophosphamide can cause cystitis or bladder inflammation. Uncomfortable urination and the appearance of blood in the urine are symptoms of cystitis.Hair loss can occur, particularly at very high doses. The amount of hair loss is highly variable, but in almost all patients it re-grows after the treatment is discontinued.An important concern in cyclophosphamide therapy is the long-term increased risk of bladder or blood cancers (leukemias and lymphomas). It is estimated that with long-term daily cyclophosphamide use the risk of developing these cancers nearly doubles. Because cyclophosphamide is prescribed almost exclusively for severe, unremitting RA or for life-threatening complications, this potential risk of cancer in the future is usually at a tolerable level.*101/209/5*

DRUGS FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS TREATMENT: PENICILLAMINE AND GOLDWhat is penicillamine?Penicillamine (Cuprimine, Depen) is a chelating agent, which means that it binds metals in the blood and aids in their removal. It is very effective in treating RA, but it also has some toxicity, including muscle weakness, a lupus-like syndrome of the kidney (protein in the urine), and other effects on the blood counts. It is not related to the antibiotic penicillin.This drug is modestly useful in patients with RA. It used to be the standard of care but has been replaced by newer agents.The drug decreases the formation of antibodies, stops the white cells in their tracks, decreases the function of the T cells, and removes damaging molecules called free radicals.
Gold used to treat RAGold therapy is an old remedy that still has a place in the treatment of RA. In fact, many doctors feel that gold therapy can induce a complete remission of the disease.There are injectable forms of gold and an oral form to treat RA. The oral form is less effective than the injectable form.As with all drugs, gold therapy has its problems. It may cause mouth ulcers, rashes, protein in the urine, and, rarely, low platelets (blood-clotting particles) and a low white cell count.The usual dose of injectable gold is a test dose of 10 milligrams, followed one week later by 25 milligrams once a week for two weeks, and then 50 milligrams weekly for up to 20 weeks. It can be given longer if the patient has a dramatic remission.Your doctor will keep a record of your injections and test you before each new dose. The doctor will take urine and a blood count to make sure that all is well.*36/141/5*

the injected gold salts work in the body is not known. Nor is it known how the body reacts to them. Since gold therapy produces some relief of the symptoms it is believed that it acts as a stimulant on the vital processes of the body.

Gold injections, however, are known to be highly toxic and may produce many diseases and complications. Liver and kidneys can be seriously damaged, which may even cause death. Various skin diseases are a common result of gold injections. Stomach disorders, deafness, anemia, hemorrhages under the skin, neuritis, headache, eye impairments, ulcerations of the mouth and gums1B—these are just a few of the most serious diseases caused by gold therapy. In fact the toxic nature of gold salts and the dangers of gold treatments are so well recognized by physicians that it is usually recommended only in cases where other forms of treatment have completely failed.

As in the case of aspirin and cortisone, gold injections do not go to the bottom of the problem; they do not eliminate or alleviate the basic causative factors of the disease. Considering the grave risks involved in its use, gold therapy should have been abandoned long ago as a remedy for arthritis.

New drugs are constantly developed by pharmaceutical companies searching for a miracle drug which will cure arthritis. Indomethacin is one drug which is considered by the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases as the most promising at the present time. Other recently developed drugs are phenylbutazone and unpronounceable triethylene-thiophos-phoramide. All are potent pain-killers with equally potent side effects.

As I mentioned before, all these conventional treatments and remedies have failed to bring about a real, permanent betterment and cure for arthritis. The reason for this is obvious: Orthodox medicine, by its own admission, does not know the cause of arthritis. Since they don’t know what causes arthritis, it would then be logical to expect that they don’t know what to do or how to go about finding a cure.

*15/176/2*

As was evident from the previous chapter, arthritis is a systemic disease which affects the whole body. Therefore, the only measures that can be successful in correcting the disease, bringing it under control, and accomplishing a lasting cure, must be ones directed at correcting its underlying causes. This can only be accomplished by treatments which help to overcome the systemic disturbances, normalize the metabolic processes, and help restore all normal functions of the vital organs and glands. That the conventional remedies fail to accomplish this is evident

While drugs and injections may relieve pain and modify symptoms, they do not go to the bottom of the problem, they do not eliminate the underlying causes, nor do they correct the systemic disturbances. What is even worse, these conventional remedies, being suppressive in nature and having undesirable toxic side effects, interfere with the normal bodily processes and actually inhibit restorative and healing efforts of the body. Eventually they cause more damage than good and lead to a complete invalidism.

It must be emphatically stated that drugs do not possess curative powers. The cure is always brought about by the body itself, and the most that a wise doctor can ever do is assist the body’s own healing forces. The drugs used in conventional treatment of arthritis—aspirin, cortisone, gold injections, etc.— only suppress and mask the symptoms of the disease. They do not promote the healing processes, nor do they provide any lasting benefits.

*12/176/2*