Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

• Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that can cause chronic inflammation of the joints and other areas of the body.
• Rheumatoid arthritis can affect people of all ages.
• The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not known.
• Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease, characterized by periods of disease flares and remissions.
• In rheumatoid arthritis, multiple joints are usually, but not always, affected in a symmetrical pattern.
• Chronic inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis can cause permanent joint destruction and deformity.
• Damage to joints can occur early and does not always correlate with the severity of symptoms.
• The "rheumatoid factor" is an antibody that can be found in the blood of 80% of people with rheumatoid arthritis.
• There is no known cure for rheumatoid arthritis.
• The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis optimally involves a combination of patient education, rest and exercise, joint protection, medications, and occasionally surgery.
• Early treatment of rheumatoid arthritis results in better outcomes.

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 body. Autoimmune diseases 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 and is sometimes called rheumatoid disease.

Picture of a joint with rheumatoid arthritis

While rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic illness, meaning it can last for years, patients may experience long periods without symptoms. However, rheumatoid arthritis is typically a progressive illness that has the potential to cause joint destruction and functional disability.

A joint is where two bones meet to allow movement of body parts. Arthritis means joint inflammation. The joint inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis causes swelling, pain, stiffness, and redness in the joints. The inflammation of rheumatoid disease can also occur in tissues around the joints, such as the tendons, ligaments, and muscles.

In some people with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic inflammation leads to the destruction of the cartilage, bone, and ligaments, causing deformity of the joints. Damage to the joints can occur early in the disease and be progressive. Moreover, studies have shown that the progressive damage to the joints does not necessarily correlate with the degree of pain, stiffness, or swelling present in the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a common rheumatic disease, affecting approximately 1.3 million people in the United States, according to current census data. The disease is three times more common in women as in men. It afflicts people of all races equally. The disease can begin at any age and even affects children (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis), but it most often starts after 40 years of age and before 60 years of age. In some families, multiple members can be affected, suggesting a genetic basis for the disorder.

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/rheumatoid_arthritis/article.htm