Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an Autoimmune disease. These are illnesses that occur when the body’s tissues are mistakenly attacked by their own immune system. The immune system contains a complex organization of cells and antibodies designed normally to “seek and destroy” invaders of the body, particularly infections. Patients with autoimmune diseases have antibodies in their blood that target their own body tissues, where they can be associated with inflammation. Because it can affect multiple other organs of the body, rheumatoid arthritis is referred to as a systemic illness.
RA causes inflammation of the joints, as well as inflammation of the tissue surrounding those joints. It most often starts in the hands, feet and spine but can progress to other areas of the body.
Symptoms
- Redness/Puffiness in hands
- Tenderness in joints
- Swelling around joints
- Chronic pain
- Firm bumps of tissue under the skin
- Fever
- Stiffness in joints
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Difficulty sleeping
About 1% of the world’s population is afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis, women three times more often than men. Onset is most frequent between the ages of 40 and 50, but people of any age can be affected. It can be a disabling and painful condition. There is currently no known cure, but there are several treatments available which help alleviate the severity of the symptoms.
For more information visit the NZ Arthritis Foundation HERE
Other forms of Arthritis:
Primary forms of arthritis:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Septic arthritis
- Gout and pseudo-gout
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Still’s disease
- Ankylosing spondylitis
Secondary to other diseases:
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
- Sarcoidosis
- Henoch-Schönlein purpura
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Reactive arthritis
- Haemochromatosis
- Hepatitis
- Wegener’s granulomatosis (and many other vasculitis syndromes)
- Lyme disease
- Familial Mediterranean fever
- Hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with recurrent fever
- TNF receptor associated periodic syndrome
- Inflammatory bowel disease (Including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis)
An undifferentiated arthritis is an arthritis that does not fit into well-known clinical disease categories, possibly being an early stage of a definite rheumatic disease.[4]