rheumatoid arthritis

(noun)

A chronic and progressive disease in which the immune system attacks the joints. It is characterised by pain, inflammation and swelling of the joints, stiffness, weakness, loss of mobility, and deformity. Tissues throughout the body can be affected including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and muscles.

Related Terms

Examples of rheumatoid arthritis in the following topics:

  • Rheumatism and Arthritis

    • Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that affects many tissues and organs, but mainly attacks flexible joints.
    • Kathleen Turner, the actress from the movie Body Heat found out when she was in her mid-40s that she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis.
    • Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks flexible (synovial) joints.
    • There is no known cure for rheumatoid arthritis, but many different types of treatment can alleviate symptoms and/or modify the disease process.
    • Other forms of arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and related autoimmune diseases.

  • Bursitis

    • Causes of bursitis include rheumatoid arthritis, severe scoliosis, traumatic injury, other chronic systemic diseases, and idiopathic sources.

  • Hypersensitivity

    • Associated disorders: Serum sickness, Arthus reaction, Rheumatoid arthritis, Post streptococcal glomerulonephritis, lupus Nephritis, Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Extrinsic allergic alveolitis (Hypersensitivity pneumonitis).

  • Muscular Atrophy

  • Monoclonal Antibodies

    • It is possible to create a mAb specific to almost any extracellular/ cell surface target, and thus there is a large amount of research and development currently being undertaken to create monoclonals for numerous serious diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and different types of cancers).

  • Cytokine Therapy

    • Plasma levels of various cytokines may give information on the presence, or even predictive value of inflammatory processes involved in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, as well as immunomodulatory effects of foods or drugs.

  • Raynaud's Phenomenon

    • Connective tissue disorders which may cause secondary Raynaud's include scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, cold agglutinin disease, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

  • Tenosynovitis

    • Repeated use of hand tools can precede the condition, as well as arthritis or injury.
    • Tenosynovitis is also linked to infectious arthritis caused by bacteria such as Neisseria gonorrhoae.

  • Fibromyalgia

    • In most cases, patients with fibromyalgia symptoms may also have laboratory test results that appear normal and many of their symptoms may mimic those of other rheumatic conditions such as arthritis or osteoporosis.

  • Ankylosing Spondylitis

    • AS is a form of spondyloarthritis, a chronic, inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune disease.