Arthritis is a condition of the body where the joints of the body are severely affected, and have trouble functioning normally. Common symptoms of arthritis are swelling of joints of the hands, knees etc. Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by the body attacking its own joints, medically rheumatoid arthritis is termed as a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder, and unlike arthritis that usually effects people in their 50s or 60s; rheumatoid arthritis can effect anyone from the age of 15 onwards, however like arthritis the incidence of the disease is higher as the age of an individual increases. Today 3 in every 10,000 people are afflicted with RA.

Symptoms and diagnosis of RA (Rheumatoid arthritis)

Rheumatoid arthritis is not an easy disease to diagnose as the clinical symptoms of RA are vast and varied. However there are certain criteria that have been laid down so that diagnosis of case as RA can be simpler. The list of the criteria mentioned above is:

a) The patient exhibits stiffness of the joints in the morning for a minimum duration for 1 hour
b) Arthritis and soft tissue swelling in more than 3 separate joints of the body (there are 14 major joints that can be affected)
c) Arthritis of hand joints
d) Symmetric arthritis (This is a condition where the same pair of body joints are affected in more than one place, hence the term Symmetric. To be termed as symmetric arthritis 4 or more joints have to be affected)
e) Development of subcutaneous nodules in specific places
f) Rheumatoid factor above 95 percent (Explained further in the article)
g) Radiological changes suggestive of joint erosion

If 6 or more symptoms are present in a patient then the disease is termed as rheumatoid arthritis. In almost all cases a blood test is carried out to detect the presence of a certain antibody in the blood called the RF (Rheumatoid factor). However the absence of the RF factor in the blood does not mean that a person is not suffering from RA. In addition to blood tests, usually X-rays and radiological tests are also carried to see if there is any physical evidence of joint erosion or arthritis.

Cause of Rheumatoid Arthritis

There is no concrete theory that can point to the cause of RA, as of today there is no known medical explanation as to why the body starts attacking its own joints, there are numerous theories that have been presented by various scientists, the most popular being infection of the body by certain bacteria, however there is still no concrete evidence that can attribute RA to a particular organism, and hence the cause of RA is still unknown.

Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

There is no known cure of RA; treatments that are available today are designed to ease the pain caused by RA, or to better cope with symptoms like swelling of joints, and stiffness of joints. Common measures to reduce the effects of RA include anti-inflammatory drugs, pain killers and also disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Depending on the effectiveness of the treatment, the medicines can halt or ease the symptoms of RA, but as of today no known drug can completely irradiate or permanently cure RA.