Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug use in the elderly rheumatoid arthritis patient.

During the 10-year period since the last review was done by Gardner and Furst, studies have furthered the knowledge of the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in the elderly rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient. This article briefly reviews the clinical pharmacology of humans as they age, and details the effects of aging on the specific pharmacokinetics and responses to commonly used DMARDs. There has been some progress in understanding the elderly RA patient; however, data are insufficient to provide much confidence in DMARDs effects in the elderly.