Les médicaments anti-inflammatoires : des anciens classiques aux biothérapies et inhibiteurs de JAK.

Anti-inflammatory medications are known since a long time and still remain among the most used drugs in clinical practice. They belong to a variety of pharmacological classes and act via very different biochemical mechanisms. Nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs, which are derived from acetylsalicylic acid, and cortisone with its multiple derivative molecules (glucocorticoids) remain the background therapy of diseases associated with inflammation, either acute or chronic. Some old molecules, known to exert an anti-inflammatory activity, still have specific indications, colchicine and methotrexate as examples. However, the greatest innovation of the last two decades results from the launch of biological therapies, starting with the use of anti-TNF? agents to move towards monoclonal antibodies targeting various pro-inflammatory interleukins (IL-1, IL-6, IL-5, IL-17, IL-23, …). Finally, small molecules acting as JANUS kinase inhibitors or tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitors open new alternatives in severe diseases that are resistant to other anti-inflammatory drugs. The interest for anti-inflammatory medications has been reinforced since the COVID-19 outbreak.