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Rheumatoid Arthritis: People
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Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder characterized by stiffness, pain, swelling, and limitation of motion in multiple joints. More than 2 million Americans suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, which, if left untreated, can result in disfigurement and disability from irreversible joint damage. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), autoimmune disorders affect between 14.7 and 23.5 million people in the United States.
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Rheumatoid arthritis can occur at any age, but most often appears first between the ages of 25 and 50. Rheumatoid arthritis affects around one percent of Americans, but is three times more common in women than in men. It affects people of all races, and appears to run in families.
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The outlook has dramatically improved for many people newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), long feared as one of the most disabling types of arthritis. RA remains a serious disease, and one that can vary widely in symptoms and outcomes. Even so, recent advances in treatment have made it possible to stop or at least slow the progression of joint damage. Many of these new treatments have emerged in the last 10 years because of exciting and rapidly advancing research into the fundamentals of inflammation. Some new therapies target inflammation; others involve combinations of existing medications to increase benefit.
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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects more than 2.5 million people in the United States, and like other autoimmune diseases, it disproportionately affects more women than men. Women with RA outnumber men three-to-one. Although children ... can be affected, the onset of RA most commonly occurs in adults with increasing frequency at least into their 60s.
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Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis often begin when excessive heat of flu and fever spreads to the joints. At early stages, pain can change and move from one part of the body to another. Gradually the pain comes to all parts of the body and it slowly increases. The color of the skin changes to reddish-brown and the body feels excessive heat. People think their bones are separating, and their flesh becomes very sensitive. The symptoms can move to the heart in the form of rheumatic fever.
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Researchers are searching for new drugs or combinations of drugs that can reduce inflammation and slow or stop the progression of rheumatoid arthritis with few side effects. Already, the new biologic response modifiers infliximab and etanercept are proving to be extremely effective for some people. Studies show that these treatments are more effective at slowing joint damage than methotrexate alone. Combination treatment with etanercept and methotrexate or infliximab and methotrexate has been found even more effective than either of the new treatments alone. (Methotrexate was used for comparison because it is a commonly prescribed “front-line” treatment.) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved adalimumab (Humira) for slowing the progression of structural damage in adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis who have not responded well to one or more disease modifying antirheumatic drugs.
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