Malaria Drug: A Surprisingly Effective Rheumatoid Arthritis Medication
What do mosquitoes and humans have in common? A drug developed to prevent malaria works well as a first-line RA treatment.
Medically reviewed by Farrokh Sohrabi, MD
Developed to prevent mosquito-borne malaria, hydroxychloroquine does double-duty as an effective and low-cost rheumatoid arthritis drug.
Hydroxychloroquine is a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD), which helps lessen rheumatoid arthritis (RA) swelling and pain. Originally used to inhibit malaria, the drug was repurposed in the 1800s by doctors looking for new ways to manage other diseases, says Scott Zashin, MD, a rheumatologist at UT Southwestern in Dallas.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/malaria-and-ra-treatment-2576.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthLivingWithRheumatoidArthritis_20130314
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