Question

he signs and symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis to areas of the disease process, such as what causes joint stiffness.

Answer 1

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic progressive inflammatory autoimmune disease mainly affecting peripheral synovial joints. It is a systemic disorder where inflammatory changes affect not only joints but also many other sites including the heart, blood vessels and skin. This disease is more commonly seen in females than males and can affect all ages including children. It usually develops within the age group of 35 and 55 years.

Up to 90% of cases affected individuaks have rheumatoid factor (RF) in their body fluids. High levels of RF, especially early in the disease, are strongly associated wit accelerated and more severe disease.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS: Includes:

• Warm, tenderness and swollen joints
• Joint stiffness (worse in the morning and when lack of activity)

Joint stiffness is mainly due to the inflammation of the synovium (the lining of the joint) and after walking, the disease may lasts for 30 minutes in people with this disease.

• Fatigue
• Fever and
• Loss of appetite

In the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis, it tends to affect the smaller joints such as fingers of hands, toes to feet. As the disease progresses, the synovial joints may involved and the symptoms spread to the wrists, knees, ankles, elbows,hips and shoulders. With each exacerbation there is additional and cumulative damage to the joints, leading to increasing deformity, pain and loss of function. The early stage of the disease can be reversible but the progression of disease further leads to permanent tissue damage.