Overview: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that strikes roughly 1.3 million Americans. RA attacks the synovial tissues surrounding the joints, causing chronic pain and disability if left untreated. RA is considered an autoimmune disorder because it causes the body to attack itself, mistaking healthy synovial joint tissues as a threat, thereby destroying the joint themselves. While rheumatoid arthritis usually develops mainly in older adults, the disorder can occur at any age. According to research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by the existence of inflammation in five or more joints.
What occurs during a Rheumatoid Arthritis attack?
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) attacks, or flare ups, typically come and go for a period of weeks to months. During an attack, the immune system attacks the joint tissues via antibodies, which are meant to protect the body from infection. However, in RA patients, immune antibodies mistake healthy joint tissues gradually eroding the healthy integrity and function of the joints.
RA flare ups range from mild inflammation of the joints to extreme pain and swelling that impacts movement and simple joint function, and can even affect the liver, lymphatic system, bones, heart, skin, and lungs of patients.
Rheumatoid arthritis progression
For many rheumatoid arthritis patients the disorder is progressive, meaning they will experience recurring flare ups that affect almost every part of the body. These attacks often gradually worsen with time with periods of remission, or subsiding symptoms in between.
While no cure for RA is known, treatment of the disease is important to slow the progression and relieve symptoms. Doctors will typically prescribe a combination of medication (usually NSAIDS and/or Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs to prevent disease progression), lifestyle changes, physical therapies, and dietary treatments.
Patients are impacted by rheumatoid arthritis very differently. For instance, attacks can be mild for some patients and disabling for others. During the earliest stages of RA, most patients experience telltale joint pain and swelling. Early detection and treatment is important to prevent serious and life-threatening disability.
