Drugs widely used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis may benefit patients suffering from other autoimmune conditions, scientists believe.

Professor Marc Feldmann is set to present his findings at this year's Congress of European Pharmacological Societies, demonstrating how the development of anti-TNF drugs are successful in treating chronic inflammatory conditions, including Crohn's disease, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and ulcerative colitis.

"In autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis, we discovered that cytokines are over-produced causing the immune system to fight itself, resulting in inflammation and tissue destruction," he explained.

"We further found that by blocking just one cytokine – Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) alpha – we were able to block all the cytokines involved in the inflammation, with remarkable clinical results."

Moving forward with the results, professor Feldmann hopes to address the potential therapeutic targets in patients suffering from atherosclerosis.

The 5th Congress of the Federation of European Pharmacological Societies is due to be held in Manchester, UK, this week.

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