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Rheumatoid Arthritis

What is the main cause of rheumatoid arthritis?

What is the main cause of rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition, which means it’s caused by the immune system attacking healthy body tissue. However, it’s not yet known what triggers this. Your immune system normally makes antibodies that attack bacteria and viruses, helping to fight infection.

rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that leads to chronic inflammation in the joints, in which the immune system attacks the tissues surrounding the joints of the body, causing inflammation, swelling and pain in the joints and may affect the surrounding tissues and organs as well.

Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized as a type of inflammatory disease that occurs on both sides of the body, that is, it affects both wrists, knees, feet, elbows, ankles, hips, or shoulders, and sometimes it may affect other parts of the body such as the skin, eyes, lungs, heart or nerves. or lung.

symptoms

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include the following:

  • Feeling of joint pain and stiffness.
  • Swelling or deformity in the shape of the joint.
  • Joint loss of its functional and motor capabilities.
  • Unsteadiness when walking.
  • Weight loss occurs.
  • General feeling of tiredness and fatigue.

These symptoms may be slight or they may disappear completely at times and become severe and strong at other times.

Causes

The exact reason why the immune system attacks body tissues in people with RA is not known, but it may be due to infection, genetic factors or hormonal changes.

What happens is that the antibodies released by the immune system attack the synovium, the soft lining that surrounds the joint, resulting in inflammation and pain in the area.

Therefore, neglecting the disease and not receiving appropriate treatment for inflammation leads to the destruction of the cartilage, which is the connective tissue that supports the ends of the bones, and the damage may reach the tendons and ligaments associated with the joint, causing a loss in the normal shape and formation of the joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis risk factors

The chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis increases if the following factors are present:

  1. Gender: Women are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than men.
  2. Age: The chance of developing RA in middle age is higher.
  3. Family history: Having the disease in your family history increases the chance of developing RA.
  4. Smoking: increases smoking the chance of the disease especially if he met with the genetic factor.
  5. Overweight: Individuals who are overweight may have a higher chance of developing the disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis

After your health care provider checks for your symptoms, he or she may ask you to do some tests to help check for rheumatoid arthritis. These tests include:

  • Rheumatoid factor test.
  • Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody test

A positive result for one of the two tests may indicate the disease, but the anti-CCP test is more accurate.

Other tests that can be done to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis include:

  •  A complete blood test.
  • Erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
  • Antinuclear antibodies.
  • X-ray of the joints .
  • Ultrasound of the joints.
  • Joint fluid analysis.

rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Rheumatoid arthritis treatment aims to reduce symptoms, not exacerbate them, maintain joint health and not damage, and improve the patient’s quality of life as much as possible. Treatment methods include the following:

1. Non-pharmacological treatment

Non-drug treatments are the first step in treating the disease and involve resting the joint while maintaining range of motion and flexibility through exercise.

2. Physiotherapy

Physical therapy helps reduce pain and inflammation by using heat and cold to relieve stiff joints, as well as practicing relaxation techniques.

3. Drug treatment

There are many medications that help relieve pain and inflammation and slow the progression of the disease in general, including the following:

  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
  • corticosteroids;
  • Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.

source : wikipedia

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