Is rheumatoid arthritis cure curable?
Humans are able to perform movements or to move around with the presence of limbs. Limbs such as the hand and legs can be affected with many kinds of diseases and can affect people of different ages or stages of life. Some diseases are diseases that may be prevented whereas some diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis may not be able to be fully prevented. There are many medicines available including Arcoxia 120 mg that helps to treat pain from rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is defined as an autoimmune disease that mostly affects the joints. RA as an autoimmune disease means that the immune system which normally functions to protect body cells from infection or diseases, attack its own tissue in the body. In short, an autoimmune disease is a disease characterised by the abnormal immune response attacking cells in its own body. This response led to the inflammation process affecting the body. In the case of RA, it mainly attacks joints.
It remains unknown why RA happens but there are theories backing up the causes of the disease. This includes genes and exposure to environmental factors triggering RA. RA may have been activated years before any symptoms are exhibited by the patient. An autoimmune process may actually happen in many areas inside of the body but the main effect is usually to the joints. In RA, the immune system causes inflammation of the inner lining of the joints known as synovium. Such an inflammation process causes the synovium to be thick. These changes to the synovium will eventually lead to symptoms. As time goes by, the thick inflamed synovium pushes through the joint and ultimately destroys the bone and cartilage in the joint. These damages are also caused by chemicals released by the thick inflamed synovium. Although there are many theories that have been suggested to be causing RA such as infection as a trigger, none of these theories is fully validated to be the main cause of RA. Thus, as the word implies, the word autoimmune disease itself meaning it is an automated immune response with no concrete apparent reasons or causes.
When a person has risk factors for certain diseases, it makes them more susceptible to having the disease. In this context of RA, risk factors include older age, family history of RA due to genetic inheritance, smoking and obesity. RA is more common in women than men. This could be due to the hormonal factor that plays a role in regulating the immune system and autoimmune disease such as RA itself. Another reason why women are more prone to have RA is due to gene problems. Larger number of genes originating from the X chromosomes has a huge possibility of gene mutations. Since women have two X chromosomes, women tend to develop autoimmune disease due to mutation of genes when compared to men as men only have one X chromosome.
Symptoms of RA may vary in people as some may be affected mildly and some may be affected severely. Common symptoms include joint pain, swelling and stiffness of more than one joint at the same time. Joint pain occurs at rest and when moving. Swelling of the joint is usually accompanied by tenderness and feeling warmth of the joint. Joint stiffness typically lasts longer than 30 minutes and is usually experienced right after waking up in the morning or after a long rest. RA initially affects the small joints in the hands or feet. Over time, RA symptoms will get worse as it affects more joints. RA will affect both sides of the body such as both hands or both knees. Since RA is an autoimmune disease, it also affects the general body system causing a person to feel fatigue, fever and loss of appetite.
The fact RA is an autoimmune disease and with the fact that many autoimmune diseases do affect a person for a lifetime, patients might wonder if it is curable. Unfortunately, there is no cure to be evident in eliminating RA once a person is diagnosed. The good news is, there are treatments that help to alleviate symptoms. Common medications such as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are usually used as initial treatment. DMARD such as methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine work by blocking the effect of chemicals released through the autoimmune process. This medicine often takes months before fully working in the body to improve symptoms. Newer form of treatment known as biological treatment such as adalimumab is used with a combination of DMARD or when DMARD is ineffective to treat symptoms. Aside medication that slows down RA, medications such as painkillers, steroid and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be prescribed by doctors to alleviate pain and inflammation.
Patients with RA not only need to get medication. They should make some adjustments or changes in life such as to come to terms with the disease so that they can learn how to manage the pain, perform exercises and healthy eating habits to cope with pain. Emotional distress is also common to be seen in those with RA. Thus, patients need to get support from loved ones and mental health professionals.
