Rheumatic Diseases

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a severe type of rheumatic disorder that affects approximately 4.5 million people in the United States. This condition is recognized as being a generalized disorder and not one limited to the joints of the body. The disease, therefore, can after the entire person. The cause of this affliction is still unknown. It is most commonly developed by young adults between the ages of 20 and 40, although cases of the disease may appear later in life. A form of the disease known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis may even be found among the newborn. This type of arthritis can be most crippling, because it can do damage to the ligaments and coverings of joints and muscles as well as to some of the organs of the body. The joints of the hands, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles, and feet are often involved. These joints are weakened and distorted. The earliest symptoms very often involved. These joints are weakened and distorted. The earliest symptoms very often are nothing more than fatigue, accompanied by a loss of appetite and weight and sometimes a numbness of the hands. It is oftentimes weeks and even months after the vague symptoms appear that the aching of the joints begins. These symptoms are most commonly experienced in the morning upon rising.

A curious thing about rheumatoid arthritis is that although it may persist in the patient for weeks or months, it may at times suddenly go away. This sudden disappearance of the disease that occasionally takes place is responsible for so called “cures” that some quacks like to take advantage of. Spontaneous relapses of the disease may also occur. Treatment for the arthritic is aimed to prevent contraction and deformity of joints as well as to relieve discomfort.

Osteoarthritis is usually attributed to wear and tear, although it many times follows injuries and other diseases of the joints. This condition tends to occur in the weight-bearing joints of the body and occurs more frequently in those patients who are overweight or obese. Such patients are usually placed on a regimen that will result in weight reduction so as to take some of the strain off these joints and slow down the degeneration of the articular cartilage. A good deal of research with regard to osteoarthritis is aimed at uncovering the unknown factors related to the speeding up of the degenerative process in cartilage metabolism. Nutritional, genetic, and endocrine factors are being scrutinized to discover the role they play in determining the resistance of cartilage to wear and tear.

Gout is a rheumatic disease in which typically only one joint is affected, usually in the lower extremities. The condition is accompanied by severe pain and swelling, redness and warmth about the joint affected the sensitivity of the affected tissue is such that the mere vibration caused by someone walking in the room may cause unbearable pain. With treatment the pain can be terminated almost immediately, and in many instances the recurrence of an acute attack prevented. Without treatment, however, the acute phase of the illness may go on for days or weeks. The gout is caused by an excessive production of uric acid. For some reason, too little of it is eliminated through the kidneys.

The tendency toward the development of an excessive amount of uric acid seems to run in families and is presumed to be an inherited factor. Because excessive amounts of uric acid precipitate gout conditions, physicians will restrict those foods that are rich in purines from which uric acid is derived. Examples of these foods are sweet-breads, anchovies, liver, and kidney. People trying to lose weight by adhering to diets high in proteins and fats (or ketogenic diets) tend to raise the levels of uric acid in their systems, sometimes bringing on a gout crises. The prognosis for gout is quite favorable. The patient who seeks early medical help should be able to avoid the crippling effects of the disease and to enjoy considerable relief from medication during the acute phases.

Some types of arthritis have been found to be caused by specific types of bacteria. In these cases the disease is treated with an antibiotic and is cured. This brings up the possibility that there may be other infectious agents responsible for other forms of arthritis. Should this be the case, the identification of the specific agent or agents involved can lead ultimately to more effective treatment of the disease. Biochemical research is developing clues to other possible causes of arthritis. Researchers feel that they are not too far away from important breakthroughs in the area that could lead to more specific preventive and treatment measures.  

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Category: Musculoskeletal Disorders