What are rheumatoid arthritis symptoms?

Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is a disease that affects the joints, leading to chronic pain and sometimes even permanent damage. Researchers at the Arthritis Foundation estimate that 1.3 million Americans suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms can be hard to handle, but aggressive treatment can relieve the pain and help prevent joint damage.

Rheumatoid arthritis is very different from osteoarthritis, or OA, the form of arthritis associated with aging. In people who suffer from OA, the cartilage cushioning the joints begins to break down from the wear and tear of everyday life and the biological changes of growing old.

People with RA, on the other hand, have a malfunctioning immune system that actually begins to attack the synovium, or the lining of the joints.

When the immune system attacks this lining it leads to rheumatoid arthritis flare-ups, which are periods of painful inflammation, swelling and joint stiffness. Other rheumatoid arthritis symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• Flu-like symptoms, including low fever
• Weight loss
• The appearance of small bumps called rheumatoid nodules under the skin. (The nodules themselves should not be painful.)

The inflammation of a rheumatoid arthritis flare-up can affect several joints simultaneously. Between flare-ups, the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis become less severe.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Causes

Doctors do not fully understand what causes the immune system malfunction that leads to rheumatoid arthritis. But genetic factors seem to play a role, as people who have a family history of RA may have a higher chance of developing the condition themselves.

Women are more likely than men to get rheumatoid arthritis, and people between the ages of 40 and 60 are more likely to get RA than younger or older people.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

Treating rheumatoid arthritis can involve a wide array of medications. Rheumatoid arthritis treatment does more than simply alleviate the pain of the disease. Early and aggressive RA treatment is important because it can prevent or drastically slow down the permanent joint damage that RA can cause.

Medications used to treat rheumatoid arthritis include:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): These drugs are often the initial treatment for rheumatoid arthritis symptoms; they help reduce inflammation and relieve pain.
• Corticosteroids: Like NSAIDs, these drugs reduce inflammation and relieve pain, but in the long term their effectiveness diminishes and their side effects increase.
• Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs): These drugs usually are used in combination with NSAIDs or steroids to dramatically slow the progress of the joint damage associated with rheumatoid arthritis.
• Biologic response modifiers: These drugs, also called TNF-alpha inhibitors, affect the immune system and help prevent it from attacking the lining of the joints. They can be extremely effective, especially when combined with DMARDs.

There is also a variety of surgical rheumatoid arthritis treatments. Arthroscopic surgery, for example, can be used to repair some damage to the lining of the joints. A synovectomy is the surgical removal of the diseased joint lining, and it can be helpful when one joint is more of a problem than the others. Joint replacement surgery can allow a patient to stay mobile even in the late stages of the disease.