The key component of all of these diseases involves our own immune system, which contributes to the illness. So therapy targeting our own immune system can help alleviate the diseases themselves.
If treatment is required, the drugs used may include medications that fight inflammation very quickly (e.g. steroids), oral medications that change the course of the disease over time (e.g. methotrexate), or even newer biologic medications which turns down parts of the immune system responsible for the autoimmune disease (e.g. TNF inhibitors, IL-6 inhibitors, etc).
These drugs suppress the immune system, so careful monitoring of side effects is essential. Only a physician experienced with these drugs and diseases, such as a rheumatology provider, should monitor the therapies.
New biologic therapies are directed against the small molecules which orchestrate our own immune response. These drugs include tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNF), IL-6 inhibitors, inhibitors of T cell and B cell interaction, and others.
By using specific targeted therapy against specific messengers, we can change our immune response, both for the good and for the bad. Any change in the immune system may control the disease, but may also subject us to different risks such as infection that need to be monitored by your rheumatology provider.