Rheumatoid arthritis is traditionally thought to be a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder that results in the immune system attacking the joints, and causes a disabling as well as inflammatory...

Rheumatoid arthritis is traditionally thought to be a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder that results in the immune system attacking the joints, and causes a disabling as well as inflammatory condition leading to considerable loss of mobility consequent to the amount of pain as well as joint destruction being felt. It is a systemic disease that in many instances, affects extra-articular tissues in the body that also includes the skin, heart, blood vessels, lungs as well as muscles.

May Last For Years

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic illness which can last for years, but patients may also experience long periods when there are no perceivable symptoms. It is a dangerous disease that has potential to destroy the joints as well as cause functional disability. It results in swelling, pain, redness as well as stiffness, and may also occur in tissues around the joints including the tendons, ligaments as well as muscles.

Rheumatoid arthritis is not unusual and is believed to affect over two million Americans, and is thrice as common amongst women as in men. There is no racial bias either, and it can begin at any age, though it is usual to affect people over forty years of age. There is also evidence to suggest that it can be a genetic disease.

There is no certainty as to what causes rheumatoid arthritis even though infectious agents like viruses, bacteria as well as fungi are suspected, but none have been proven. It is the subject of much research right across the globe, and genetic factors seem to be suspected as too are certain injections that might cause the immune system to attack the body’s own tissues thereby causing inflammation in organs such as the eyes and lungs.

The environment too is thought to cause rheumatoid arthritis, and recently, scientists reported that smoking tobacco could increase the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. The symptoms too come and go and depend on the degree of tissue inflammation. Inflamed body tissues mean the disease is active and when the inflammation subsides, the disease is inactive. In an active state, the symptoms seen are feelings of fatigue, lack of appetite, aches in joints and muscles, low grade fever as well as stiffness. Being a systemic disease, rheumatoid arthritis inflammation can spread to organs and areas of the body other than the joints.

The diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis begins with a meeting between the doctor and patient. The doctor will review the history of symptoms, makes an examination of the joints to look for inflammation and deformity, and checks the skin for rheumatoid nodules as also other parts of the body for inflammation. However, there is no known cure for rheumatoid arthritis and the goal of treatment is reduction of the joint inflammation and pain as well as maximizing joint function while preventing further destruction and deformity of the joints.

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