Have the anti-inflammatory drugs helped our understanding in rheumatology?

The author discusses the part that certain anti-inflammatory drugs have played in increasing our understanding of the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and in adding to our knowledge of the mediators of the inflammatory response. Increasingly, the therapeutic agents under discussion have directed attention to the role of the macrophage in inflammation. Closer examination of existing anti-inflammatory or anti-rheumatic drugs and their mode of action has more recently directed attention towards immunomodulation.