Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which joints in the body become inflamed, causing pain, swelling and stiffness.

Rheumatoid arthritis is known as an autoimmune disease because the body's immune system that normally fights infection starts to attack healthy joints. It is also possible for rheumatoid arthritis to affect other organs of the body, such as the skin, lungs, liver, heart, eyes, nerves, muscles and blood vessels.

Rheumatoid arthritis can be very painful and affect a person's ability to carry out everyday tasks. Feelings of fatigue and flu-like symptoms are also common, making you feel generally unwell.

What causes rheumatoid arthritis?

Doctors don't know why rheumatoid arthritis develops and there is currently no cure.

Understanding of rheumatoid arthritis has improved enormously in recent years, however, and there are now effective treatments that can help control the pain and symptoms, and slow down the progress of the disease.

Unlike osteoarthritis where one isolated joint may be affected, rheumatoid arthritis affects joints across the body in a symmetrical pattern and frequently affects the hands and feet.

It is vital that rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed early and treatment is started as soon as possible to minimise damage to joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis is often mistaken for osteoarthritis, which is a quite different condition caused by "wear and tear" of joints and generally affects older people.

Other types of inflammatory arthritis

Ankylosing spondylitis: Ankylosing spondylitis affects the bones, muscles and ligaments of the spine and is more common in men than women
Psoriatic Arthritis: A type of arthritis that causes inflammation in and around the joints (and can lead to joint damage) usually in people who already have the skin condition psoriasis. Sometimes, the arthritis can develop before the psoriasis
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA): different types of inflammatory arthritis (not rheumatoid arthritis) that affect children aged 16 years and less

Infolinks:

National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS)
Arthritis Research Campaign (ARC)

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