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Examples
of Rheumatic Diseases
Some of the Rheumatic disorders are:
Osteoarthritis This is the
most common type of arthritis, that primarily affects cartilage
(tissue that protects the ends of bones within the joint). It
has been estimated that more than 21 million adults are
suffering from Osteoarthritis in the United States. In this
disease, the cartilage begins to fray and may entirely wear
away. Osteoarthritis can cause joint pain and stiffness. This
disease affects spine and weight bearing joints like knees and
hips.
Rheumatoid
arthritis This inflammatory disease of the synovium
or lining of the joint, will result in pain, stiffness,
swelling, joint damage and loss of function of the joints. This
inflammation mainly affects joints in hands and feet. It has
been estimated that about 1 percent (approximately 2.1 Million
people) of the United States population have rheumatoid
arthritis.
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
This is the most common form of arthritis in childhood that will
cause pain, stiffness, swelling, and loss of function of the
joints. This type of arthritis is associated with rashes or
fevers, and may affect various parts of the body.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic
disease that causes pain all through the tissues that supports
and helps for the movement of bones and joints. This disorder
causes pain, stiffness in muscles and tendons, particularly in
neck, spine, shoulders, and hips. Fibromyalgia may cause fatigue
and sleep disturbances to the patients.
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus (also referred as lupus or SLE) is
an autoimmune disease in which the immune system harms the
body's own healthy cells and tissues. This can result in
inflammation of and damage to the joints, skin, kidneys, heart,
lungs, blood vessels, and brain.
Scleroderm also known as
systemic sclerosis. The meaning for scleroderma is "hard skin."
The disease mainly affects the skin, blood vessels and joints.
Sometimes it also affects internal organs, such as the lungs and
kidneys. In this disease, there will be abnormal and excessive
production of collagen (a fiber-like protein) in skin and
internal organs.
Spondyloarthropathies This
type of rheumatic diseases mainly affects the spine. One of the
common forms of this disease is ankylosing spondylitis, it not
only affects the spine, but also affects the hips, shoulders and
knees as the tendons and ligaments around the bones and joints.
It causes inflammation, resulting in pain and stiffness.
Ankylosing spondylitis tends to affect people in late
adolescence or early adulthood. Another form of
spondyloarthropathy is Reactive arthritis, which will develop
after an infection involving the lower urinary tract, bowel or
other organ and is commonly related with eye problems, skin
rashes and mouth sores.
Gout This type of arthritis
results from deposits of needle-like crystals of uric acid in
the joints. These crystals cause inflammation, swelling, and
pain in the affected joint.
Infectious arthritis This
type of arthritis are caused by infectious agents like bacteria
or viruses. Common examples of infectious arthritis are
Parvovirus arthritis and gonococcal arthritis. Arthritis
symptoms may also occur in Lyme disease (caused by a bacterial
infection following the bite of certain ticks). In those cases
of arthritis caused by bacteria, early diagnosis and treatment
with antibiotics are important to get rid of the infection and
to minimize the damage of joints.
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Because this disease involves tendons, muscles, ligaments, and
tissues around the joint, symptoms often include pain, aching,
and morning stiffness in the shoulders, hips, neck, and lower
back. It is sometimes the first sign of giant cell arteritis, a
disease of the arteries characterized by inflammation, weakness,
weight loss, and fever.
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