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ARITHRITIS
Introduction
Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness.Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In some types other organs are also affected. Onset can be gradual or sudden.
There are over 100 types of arthritis.The most common forms are osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) andrheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis usually occurs with age and affects the fingers, knees, and hips.Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that often affects the hands and feet. Other types include gout, lupus, fibromyalgia, and septic arthritis. They are all types of rheumatic disease.
Treatment may include resting the joint and alternating between applying ice and heat. Weight loss and exercise may also be useful. Pain medications such as ibuprofen and paracetamol (acetaminophen) may be used. In some a joint replacement may be useful.
Osteoarthritis affects more than 3.8% of people while rheumatoid arthritis affects about 0.24% of people. Gout affects about 1 to 2% of the Western population at some point in their lives.In Australia about 15% of people are affected, while in the United States more than 20% have a type of arthritis. Overall the disease becomes more common with age. Arthritis is a common reason that people miss work and can result in a decreased quality of life.The term is from Greek arthro-meaning joint and -itis meaning inflammation.
Classification
There are several diseases where joint pain is primary, and is considered the main feature. Generally when a person has "arthritis" it means that they have one of these diseases, which
include:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Gout and pseudo-gout
- Septic arthritis
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Still's disease
Joint pain can also be a symptom of other diseases. In this case, the arthritis is considered to
be secondary to the main disease; these include:
- Psoriasis (Psoriatic arthritis)
- Reactive arthritis
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
- Haemochromatosis
- Hepatitis
- Lyme disease
- Sjogren's disease
- Hashimoto's thyroiditis
- Celiac disease
- Non-celiac gluten sensitivity
- Inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis)
- Henoch–Schönlein purpura
- Hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with recurrent fever
- Sarcoidosis
- Whipple's disease
- TNF receptor associated periodic syndrome
- Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (and many other vasculitis syndromes)
- Familial Mediterranean fever
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
An undifferentiated arthritis is an arthritis that does not fit into well-known clinical disease categories, possibly being an early stage of a definite rheumatic disease.
Signs and symptoms
Pain, which can vary in severity, is a common symptom in virtually all types of arthritis. Other
symptoms include swelling, joint stiffness and aching around the joint(s). Arthritic disorders like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis can affect other organs in the body, leading to a variety of
symptoms. Symptoms may include:
- Inability to use the hand or walk
is essentially one acquired from daily wear and tear of the joint; however, osteoarthritis can also occur as a result of injury. In recent years, some joint or limb deformities, such as knock-knee or acetabular overcoverage or dysplasia, have also been considered as a predisposing factor for knee or hip osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis begins in the cartilage and eventually causes the two opposing bones to erode into each other. The condition starts with minor pain during physical activity, but soon the pain can be continuous and even occur while in a state of rest. The pain can be debilitating and prevent one from doing some activities. Osteoarthritis typically affects the weight-bearing joints, such as the back, knee and hip. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis is most commonly a disease of the elderly. More than 30 percent of women have some degree of osteoarthritis by age 65. Risk factors for osteoarthritis include prior joint trauma, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disorder in which the body's own immune system starts to attack body tissues. The attack is not only directed at the joint but to many other parts of the body. In rheumatoid arthritis, most damage occurs to the joint lining and cartilage which eventually results in erosion of two opposing bones. RA often affects joints in the fingers, wrists, knees and elbows, is symmetrical (appears on both sides of the body), and can lead to severe deformity in a few years if not treated. RA occurs mostly in people aged 20 and above. In children, the disorder can present with a skin rash, fever, pain, disability, and limitations in daily activities. With earlier diagnosis and aggressive treatment, many individuals can lead a better quality of life than if going undiagnosed for long after RA's onset. The drugs to treat RA range from corticosteroids to monoclonal antibodies given intravenously. Treatments also include analgesics such as NSAIDs and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), while in rare cases, surgery may be required to replace joints, but there is no cure for the disease.
Treatment with DMARDs is designed to initiate an adaptive immune response, in part by CD
- T helper (Th) cells, specifically Th17 cells. Th17 cells are present in higher quantities at the site of bone destruction in joints and produce inflammatory cytokines associated with inflammation, such as interleukin-17 (IL-17).
Bone erosion is a central feature of rheumatoid arthritis. Bone continuously undergoes remodeling by actions of bone resorbingosteoclasts and bone forming osteoblasts. One of the main triggers of bone erosion in the joints in rheumatoid arthritis is inflammation of the synovium, caused in part by the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL), a cell surface protein present in Th cells and osteoblasts. Osteoclast activity can be directly induced by osteoblasts through the RANK/RANKL mechanism.
Lupus
Lupus is a common collagen vascular disorder that can be present with severe arthritis. Other features of lupus include a skin rash, extreme photosensitivity, hair loss, kidney problems, lung fibrosis and constant joint pain.
Gout
Gout is caused by deposition of uric acid crystals in the joint, causing inflammation. There is also an uncommon form of gouty arthritis caused by the formation of rhomboid crystals of calcium pyrophosphate known as pseudogout. In the early stages, the gouty arthritis usually occurs in one joint, but with time, it can occur in many joints and be quite crippling. The joints in gout can often become swollen and lose function. Gouty arthritis can become particularly painful and potentially debilitating when gout cannot successfully be treated. When uric acid levels and gout symptoms cannot be controlled with standard gout medicines that decrease the production of uric acid (e.g., allopurinol, febuxostat) or increase uric acid elimination from the body through the kidneys (e.g., probenecid), this can be referred to as refractory chronic gout or RCG.
Other
Infectious arthritis is another severe form of arthritis. It presents with sudden onset of chills, fever and joint pain. The condition is caused by bacteria elsewhere in the body. Infectious arthritis must be rapidly diagnosed and treated promptly to prevent irreversible joint damage.
Psoriasis can develop into psoriatic arthritis. With psoriatic arthritis, most individuals develop the skin problem first and then the arthritis. The typical features are of continuous joint pains, stiffness and swelling. The disease does recur with periods of remission but there is no cure for the disorder. A small percentage develop a severe painful and destructive form of arthritis which destroys the small joints in the hands and can lead to permanent disability and loss of hand function.
Treatment
There is no known cure for either rheumatoid or osteoarthritis. Treatment options vary depending on the type of arthritis and include physical therapy, lifestyle changes (including exercise and weight control), orthopedic bracing, and medications. Joint replacement surgery may be required in eroding forms of arthritis. Medications can help reduce inflammation in the joint which decreases pain. Moreover, by decreasing inflammation, the joint damage may be slowed.
Physical therapy
In general, studies have shown that physical exercise of the affected joint can noticeably improve long-term pain relief. Furthermore, exercise of the arthritic joint is encouraged to maintain the health of the particular joint and the overall body of the person.
Individuals with arthritis can benefit from both physical and occupational therapy. In arthritis the joints become stiff and the range of movement can be limited. Physical therapy has been
included twenty population-based and seven hospital-based studies. The majority of studies,
twelve, were from South Africa. Nine studies were well-conducted, eleven studies were of moderate quality, and seven studies were conducted poorly. The results of the systematic
review were as follows:
- Rheumatoid arthritis: 0.1% in Algeria (urban setting); 0.6% in Democratic Republic of Congo (urban setting); 2.5% and 0.07% in urban and rural settings in South Africa respectively; 0.3% in Egypt (rural setting), 0.4% in Lesotho (rural setting)
- Osteoarthritis: 55.1% in South Africa (urban setting); ranged from 29.5 to 82.7% in South Africans aged 65 years and older - (^) Knee osteoarthritis has the highest prevalence from all types of osteoarthritis, with 33.1% in rural South Africa
- Ankylosing spondylitis: 0.1% in South Africa (rural setting)
- Psoriatic arthritis: 4.4% in South Africa (urban setting)
- Gout: 0.7% in South Africa (urban setting)
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis: 0.3% in Egypt (urban setting)
