Rheumatoid Arthritis Case Study

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an auto- immune disease (Giofsky et al., 2012) in which immune system of body by mistake attacks the healthy tissues especially the joints and their surrounding tissues. It is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disease affecting approximately 0.5% of the population. Rheumatic arthritis is more common in women and may occur at any age, with peak incidence at ages 50 to 60 years. The most prominent feature is symmetrical joint swelling of the feet, hands, and knees, although any joint (Tunr et al., 2010).
According to the arthritis foundation, it is term that is used for a group of more than 100 medical conditions that affect the musculoskeletal system and specifically the joints where two or

The mechanism of action of ETD, like that of other NSAIDs is not completely understood, but may be related to prostaglandin syntheses inhibition.
ETD is a member of the pyranocarboxylic acid group of non steroidal NSAIDs. Each tablet and capsule contains 400 mg or 500 mg of ETD for oral administration. ETD is a racemic mixture of [+] S and [-] R-enantiomers. ETD is a white crystalline compound. Dimethyl sulfoxide, and aqueous polyethylene glycol.
In-situ gel forming systems have been widely investigated as vehicles for sustained drug delivery. They can be defined as “the solution of polymer that forms gel in-situ due to one or combination of different stimuli like pH change, temperature modulation and solvent exchange, known as the in-situ gels”. Gastro retentive system is a drug delivery system that delivers drug and remains within the gastric region for longer duration of time. Gastro retentive in-situ gelling system helps to increase bioavailability of drug compared to conventional liquid dosage form. The gel formed from in-situ gelling system being lighter than gastric fluids. Floats over the stomach and produces gastric retention of dosage form and increase gastric residence time resulting in prolonged drug delivery in gastrointestinal tract. It releases the drug in sustained

Optimum quantities of calcium chloride, sodium citrate and calcium carbonate were used in the preparation of in-situ gel to maintain fluidity of the formulation before administration and resulted in gelation when the formulation was added to simulated gastric fluid.
In-situ Gel Formulation of ETD was characterized to identify the best formulation. All the formulations were off white to pale yellow colored solution. They had pH in the range of 7.02-7.30. Viscosity of the formulation was determined using Brookfield Viscometer. The viscosity of the formulation increased with an increase in Sodium Alginate and Pectin concentration. This phenomenon is a consequence of increasing chain interaction with an increase in polymer concentration. This change in viscosity is proportion to the change in concentration and polymer ratio.
The buoyancy lag time in simulated gastric fluid (0.1 mol L-1 HCL, pH 1.2) varied with the formulation variable. Formulation P1 exhibited the least buoyancy lag time (26 s) while formulation P6 exhibited the highest lag time (219 s). The decrease in the buoyancy lag time of a formulation P1 can be attributed to the availability of an increased amount of carbon dioxide as the with concentration of calcium carbonate which was entrapped in the formed gel to give rapid buoyancy. Irrespective of formulation variables, buoyancy duration was >12