赵云　           张奉春

Rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ) has historically been a disabling and life-threatening disease, whose features include joint pain, stiffness and swelling, joint damage, fatigue, loss of function and loss of employment. RA not only erodes bones and joints, but also infringes organs. With recent advances in the treatment, particularly the use of conventional disease-modifying therapies earlier and in combination, and the advent of biological therapies, modern rheumatologists expect to help patient attain remission, with the advantages of early presentation and effective therapies used in the “treatment to target” strategy. Thus, the manifestations have changed a lot at present, and some serious complications have disappeared. Adherence to the guidance of American college of rheumatology ( ACR ) /European league against rheumatism ( EULAR ), significant disease control and perhaps remission will be achieved, including early identification of the disease, early and aggressive use of disease-modifying antirheumatic therapies and in combination with biological agents. More and more patients will not have to undergo joint replacement surgery. Future prospects include the use of better outcome measures to define remission, better prediction of outcomes, and thus better targeting of therapies.