Chronopharmacology and its importance in the therapy of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, autoimmune and inflammatory disease that primarily affects the joints. The symptoms of RA are most pronounced in the morning, fluctuating throughout the day. Studies report cases of failure in current RA therapy. With the intention of collaborating to reduce these failures, it is suggested to implement the knowledge related to Chronopharmacology. Thus, the aim of this study is to highlight the importance of Chronopharmacology in the efficiency of pharmacological treatment of RA through a systematic review. The search for scientific studies related to the theme was carried out in the databases PubMed, Lilacs, Scielo and Google Scholar from August 2019 to April 2020.This work brought together studies that demonstrated aspects related to the topic, and also allowed to bring possible solutions for application of this science in the clinical practice of Pharmacists and other health professionals. The information obtained in this research revealed that the administration of the drugs used by patients with RA according to the circadian rhythm provided a significant improvement in the symptoms, in addition to favoring the regression of the disorder. However, there is a need for further studies to show that the uses of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs(DMARDS) have their action more potentiated when chronopharmacological principles are used.