Rheumatory arthritis - rheumotoid arthritus

Rheumatory arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which several organ systems are attacked by your immune system. The most obvious symptom of rheumotoid arthritis is when the joints are affected.

It is important to spot the early symptoms of rheumatory diseases and conditions such as rematoid arthuritis, psoratic arthrities etc as these conditions are progressive, often with an exponential development over time. Early treatment with modern drugs blocking the inflammatory cytokinical production improves the diagnose in the later stages of the rhematory arthritis.

Symptoms and signs of rheumatory arthritis 

A typical sign of rheumetoid arthritus is when the joint lining (called the synovium), is infiltrated with inflammatory cells consistint of mactophages, neutrophils, dendritic and plasma cells plus lymphocytes. In rhumitoid arthiritis where these cells are producing inflammatory cytokines, the interaction is rather complex. The changes incurred by the cytokines are very destructive.

The joints are the most common parts where rhuematoid arthrities most affects the body. It is a systemic disease and as such, it may affect also other organs like the rather common symptoms shown in lungs and eyes.

Rhumatoid arthritis (also known as RA), is a chronic disease causing swelling, pain and stiffness in the joints which limits the function and moveability of these.

Rhuematoid arthritis diagnose

With an active rhematoid arthiritis, the stiffness in the joints is worst in the morning. It can last between 1-2 hours in the morning, or throughout the whole day. Other arthritic diseases behave differently so the long interval of morning stiffness is a very clear sign of rheumatiod arthritis and an important pattern in the diagnose of the symptoms of the disease. Other typical characteristics of RA are that minor joints in feet and hands are usually affected more often than other joints.

The diagnosis of RA (rheumatioid arthritus) is clinic and in order to establish it, there must be swollen joints, mainly in the smaller joints of hands and feet. With a rheuma-test, the so called rheumatoid factor can be diagnosed in approximately 80% of the patients. The rheumatiod factor is also found in many healthy people, as many as up to 5% of the general population. So, a maximum of one in five of a rhematoid factor actually has rheumatory arthritis. If you have no swollen joints, there is no need to measure the rheumatoid factor. Patients with more than six months of disease can be diagnosed with x-ray of hands and feet which may give valuable information on damages of joints and help securing the diagnose of rheumatoid arthritis.

What causes rheumatory arthritis?

Rheumetoid arthritis is a disease in which the cells within the immune system starts to malfunction (this is known as an autoimmune disease) and in a misguided attempt to fend off things that are not there, attack joints that are healthy. The reason this behavior starts in the first place is unknown. We do know that the main focus of this attack is the synovium - the tissue lining the joint. This is where the immune system cells send in inflammatory chemicals that will start to cause damage and swelling to the cartilage and the bone.

There is some new, promising research that may well give us some more answers as to why the immune system behaves this way, what predispositions there are and whether genetic factors are playing a role. From this new research, a number of new rhumitoid arthritis medicines have been developed, the TNF (Tumor Necrosis Facor) blockers, that are designed to block some of the signals from the immune system that causes rheumotoid arthritis symptoms.

The different types of arthritis

• Osteoarthritis, is a degenerative joint disease, the most common form of arthritis.Cartilage covering the ends of bones in the joint starts to deteriorate, which then causes severe pain and reduction of movement when bones begins to rub against each other.
  
• Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease.  As a part of the immune system activity the linings of joints become inflamed, usually the minor joints first. Rheumatory arthritis is one of the most disabling types and the most serious, most common among women.
• Gout, is most common among male patients. The usual cause is a defect in the body chemistry. Gout, just as RA, most often attacks the small joints, especially the big toe. Change of diet and modern medication can fortunately control the disease in most cases.
  
• Ankylosing spondylitis affects the spine. The spinal bones grow together as a result of an inflammation.