An immune response is the body’s natural mechanism of getting rid of foreign materials. Unfortunately, our body sometimes cannot tell whether the defense mechanism has already gone overboard to the point of causing damage to otherwise healthy tissues. In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune response produces antibodies that can accumulate at the Synovial membrane of joints and cause destruction. Since the Synovial membrane serves the function of connecting the bone and the joints, when this gets inflamed, a person affected by it will be in total agony.
What happens is that the inflammation in the Synovial membrane produces an extra tissue, Pannus, which contains specific enzymes that have the ability to disintegrate the cartilage, soft tissues, and eventually, bones. If this happens, the tendons become shortened, and it causes the joint to be completely immobilized.
Rheumatoid arthritis usually develops between the ages of twenty to forty five and begins with symptoms like muscle fatigue and aching that it is often mistaken as symptoms of the common flu. It usually affects joints in the neck, wrists, knees, and ankles but is quite uncommon in the hips and spine.
It generally affects multiple areas and often occurs on both sides of the body in the similar joint.
Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis:
1. Inflammation of the joints
2. Fatigue
3. Muscle and joint aches
4. Fever
5. Weakness
6. Weight loss
7. Anemia
8. Dryness, burning, itching, and reddening of the eye
Towards the progression of the diseases, the symptoms may come and go. And while some may undergo complete remission from the disease, others can end up being disabled from it.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that is very hard to manage. There are days when you would wake up feeling as if you can do so much, but there will be days when you become totally incapable of doing anything.
Stiffness is more prone to occur in the morning and has the tendency to get better towards the day, but that is uncertain, of course. Even the level of pain is unpredictable because it varies greatly from day to day.
For this reason, patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis are advised to visit their doctors regularly for tests. Some of the tests that they undertake are the C – reactive protein blood test, complete blood cell count, as well as the standard kidney, liver, and urine tests. Within a year of treatment, radiographs should be taken to be able to examine the progression of the disease.
Recent advances in medicine have actually brought hope to patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis with the discovery of a number of drugs that have the ability to inhibit the inflammatory process that causes the destruction in the joints. One of them is Leflunomide, an oral drug that is believed to limit the activity of t-cells but while all these remedies may prove effective, unfortunately because of their side-effects, there is still much debate on their use.
In the meantime, patients with rheumatoid arthritis are encouraged to follow a very healthy diet, avoid stress, and exercise regularly to develop bone and muscle strength and easily relieve pain.
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