Rheumatoid Arthritis : An Autoimmune Disease

Rheumatoid Arthritis or “RA” is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system mistakenly attacks its own body tissues. This disease affects the lining of joints causing pain and swelling. Eventually the swelling can lead to bone erosion and joint deformity. RA can happen to anyone at any age, but the majority of people who have to endure this disease are women over the age of 40.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. While inflammation of the tissue around the joints and inflammatory arthritis are characteristic features of rheumatoid arthritis, the disease can also cause inflammation and injury in other organs in the

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the incurable diseases and turns chronic with progressive inflammatory of the synovial lining of peripheral joins. It is characterized by symmetric, chronic, and deforming polyatrhitis that causes long term joint disability when not controlled early. Considering there is no cure for this disease, management focuses on pain and inflammation reduction in order to prevent destruction of joints while at the same time preserving and improving on the functionality of the patient (Varatharajan et al, 2009).

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that is characterized by inflammation and destruction of the joints (1). It usually affects joints asymmetrically, or on both sides of the body

Osteoarthritis frequently affects the small finger joints and thumb, as well as the knees (Rheumatoid Arthritis.org, 2016). RA affects several joints in comparison to OA that affect one joint or area (Rheumatoid Arthritis.org, 2016). Osteoarthritis affects more people than rheumatoid arthritis. According to Rheumatoid Arthritis.org, (2016), 27 million people develop osteoarthritis and around 1.3 million people develop rheumatoid arthritis. Although OA is more prevalent in the population, females tend to be diagnosed are higher rates and experience the pain and stiffness alike (Rheumatoid Arthritis.org, 2016). RA appears in people between the age of thirty and sixty years of age. Osteoarthritis generally develops later in life. The signs and symptoms of RA are joint pain, stiffness, swelling joints, symmetrical symptoms, stiffness lasting greater than 30 minutes in the AM, fatigue, fever, and malaise (Rheumatoid Arthritis.org, 2016). In comparison, OA symptoms feature joint pain and stiffness which is unequally distributed and experienced in hands, fingers, knees, spine, and hips with stiffness in the AM lasting less than 30 minutes (Rheumatoid Arthritis.org, 2016). Another note is that with RA other diseases involving the lung, heart, musculoskeletal problems are common and continuous problems from the effects of inflammation (Huether & McCance,

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disorder. There are more than 100 different types of Arthritis, yet it is estimated that it affects approximately 1% of the population in the Western World. The disease is generally diagnosed in middle aged adults and the elderly. In rarer cases, children can also develop the disease and it is called Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Women are three times more likely to have rheumatoid arthritis than men. (Stevens) Many people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis appear to be healthy individuals, but suffer internally. Today, I will discuss what rheumatoid arthritis is, how it is diagnosed, and how it affects the body.

Rheumatoid Arthritis known as RA is an autoimmune disease which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the joints. In a healthy individual the immune system protects by attacking foreign substances like bacteria and viruses. When this happens the body will create inflammation that causes the tissue that lines the inside of the joints known as the synovium to thicken, which creates swelling and pain around the joints. If the individual is to go a prolong period without treatment for RA it can damage the cartilage and over time the loss of cartilage the joint can then become loose, unstable, painful and most lose their mobility. Joint deformation can occur and the damage to the joint cannot be reversed.

There are over 100 types of arthritis, and the symptoms of each one affects different parts of the body. The symptoms can develop over a long period of time or suddenly appear, and it can affect people of all age groups from children to the elderly. Symptoms of arthritis pain include stiffness and swelling in the joints, and the pain tends to be worse in the morning than at any other time of the day. Unfortunately, there is no cure for arthritis, but with the right diagnosis, a doctor can rule out other source of the pain and properly treat the arthritis symptoms.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease that attacks the musculoskeletal system. This means that certain cells of the immune system do not work properly and start attacking healthy tissues — the joints in RA. The cause of RA is not known. When inflammation occurs in the joint, immune cells release chemicals which attack the cartilage and bone, causing the swelling that leads to pain. This type of disease can cause many difficulties in the body itself. Such as pain, stiffness, swelling in joints, limited motion, loss of energy and appetite, low fevers, dry eyes and mouth, firm lumps at extremities and body discomforts. Rheumatoid arthritis mainly affects the small joints in the body like hands and feet. In rare cases, rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. normally the body’s immune system attacks and protects the body against foreign substance, with RA the immune system accidently attacks the joints. When the joints are mistakenly attacked inflammation occurs which causes the tissues to thicken thus resulting in pain and swelling of the joints. When this inflammation is undetected damage to the cartilage can occur, when this happens the spacing between the bones become smaller, the joints may become loose, painful, unstable and may also lose their mobility and deformity of the joints can occur.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the tissue that lines the inside of the joints (synovium). Over time cartilage and bone within the joint is destroyed and the joint spacing between bones become smaller. According to the text Understanding Pathophysiology by Huether and McCance cartilage damage in RA is the result of three processes: (1) neutrophils and other cells in the synovial fluid become activated, degrading the surface layer of articular cartilage; (2) cytokines, particularly tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), stimulate syntheses of preinflammatory compounds, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8), and cause the chondrocytes

Although, symptoms and severity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) vary from person to person. Patient prognosis will depend on many factors, such as whether patients test positive or negative for the protein called rheumatoid factor (RF). Other factors that affect prognosis include patient’s age at time of diagnosis, overall health, and whether or not a person develop complications. Therefore, making the right lifestyle choices and adhering to the treatment plan can make a traumatic differences. (Johns Hopkin

Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease and chronic inflammatory illness that causes the body’s immune system to attack its joints rather than the usual foreign substances such as viruses and bacteria (Arthritis Foundation, 2015; Mayo Foundation, 1998-2015). Unlike wear-and-tear osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis attacks the lining of the joints and often other body tissues such as the heart, skin, eyes and lungs (Arthritis Foundation, 2015; May Foundation, 1998-2015). Due to the body’s normal immune response, redness, inflammation, pain, and swelling, arise and can ultimately result in the destruction of bone and joint, causing for deformity (Mayo Foundation, 1998-2015). In the United States, about 1.5 million people have Rheumatoid Arthritis (Arthritis Foundation, 2015). Within this population, women are three times more likely to experience this than men. It has been noted to commonly occur between the ages of 30-60 for women and later in life for men (Arthritis Foundation, 2015). Men may be protected by hormonal factors and require a stronger genetic component to develop disease. Rheumatoid Arthritis is thought to stem from a combination of genetic susceptibility and exposure to an appropriate environmental trigger. (Ollier, W. E., Harrison, B., & Symmons, D. 2001). Within the aspect of genetics it is most likely hereditary. Although infectious triggers of RA have long been suspected, no definitive evidence has been obtained. Previous blood transfusion,

There are hundreds of thousands of persons all over the place the world who whinge of joint discomfort. As everyone knows, joint ache can arise in one or even multiple joints in our physique. Inflammation of joints may additionally lead to suffering. Rheumatoid arthritis, which is an auto-immune sickness, is one of the fundamental explanations of joint discomfort.

Arthritis is a joint disorder, which affects one or several joints in the body. The condition has more than one hundred types of diseases with osteoarthritis being the most common. Osteoarthritis results from joint infection, or age. Patients that suffer from arthritis complain about pain in the joints. In most cases, the pain remains constant in the affected joint. It is worth noting, “The pain from arthritis is due to inflammation that occurs around the joint, damage to the joint from disease, daily wear and tear of joint, muscle strains caused by forceful movements against stiff painful joints and fatigue” (Reid, Shengelia & Parker, 2012, p. 40). However, joint pain could result from various diseases, and in such