Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to attack the joints, where it causes inflammation (arthritis) and destruction. RA can also attack the skin, lungs, kidneys, and your heart.

It can be a painful condition that can lead to loss of functioning and mobility. To diagnose RA, blood tests and X-rays can determine if someone has it or not.

Various treatmenst are available where you can treat and suppress the symptoms.

The American College of Rheumatology has defined the following criteria for the classification of rheumatoid arthritis:

• Morning stiffness of >1 hour most mornings for at least 6 weeks.
• Arthritis and soft-tissue swelling of >3 of 14 joints/joint groups, present for at least 6 weeks
• Arthritis of hand joints, present for at least 6 weeks
• Symmetric arthritis, present for at least 6 weeks
• Subcutaneous nodules in specific places
• Rheumatoid factor at a level above the 95th percentile
• Radiological changes suggestive of joint erosion

At least four of these criterias have to be met for classification of RA.

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