What Is A Sedimentation Rate?
A sedimentation rate is a blood test that is commonly performed on patients with RA. This test is also sometimes referred to as a “sed rate” or an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The sedimentation rate...
A sedimentation rate is a blood test that is commonly performed on patients with RA. This test is also sometimes referred to as a “sed rate” or an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The sedimentation rate...
Rheumatoid arthritis cannot be diagnosed with a blood test alone. The RF test is helpful in making the diagnosis of RA, but it isn't foolproof. Notably, this test produces both falsepositive and false-negative results. Rheumatoid...
My Doctor Told Me I Had To Get A Test For Rheumatoid Factor. What Is That? The test for rheumatoid factor (RF) is ordered when you have symptoms of RA, such as stiffness in your...
Rituximab (pronounced “ri-TUX-i-mab”) is an antibody that was originally created in the laboratory. It is designed to interact with B cells, which are a type of white blood cells that play a role in the...
Gold compounds have been used to treat diseases for centuries. The ancient Chinese thought ingesting gold would prolong life and increase vitality. In Europe in the sixteenth century, gold compounds were used to treat epilepsy...
Abatacept (brand name: Orenica) is the first in a new class of biologic agents used in the treatment of RA. The members of this class are collectively called co-stimulation modulators. T cells play an important...
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are a new class of biologic therapies that have changed the face of rheumatology over the past decade. TNF inhibitor therapy can lead to dramatic improvements in RA symptoms and...
Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) is an antimalarial drug that is commonly prescribed to treat RA, systemic lupus erythematosus, and some other rheumatic diseases. This class of medications has a long history. Antimalarial medications that are also useful...
Sulfasalazine (brand name: Azulfidine) is an effective DMARD that is used in the treatment of RA. This drug is created from the combination of salicylic acid (the active ingredient in aspirin) and sulfapyridine (an antibiotic)....
Leflunomide is a new DMARD. It was approved by the FDA as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in October 1998, and is sold under the name Arava in the United States. This drug has a...
Methotrexate is a very commonly prescribed RA medication and is the most popular of the disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). It is also known by its brand name, Rheumatrex (Stada Pharmaceuticals). Methotrexate is classified as an...
Corticosteroids (or, as they are more commonly known, “steroids”) are a class of medications that are often given to people with inflammatory diseases. These medications are similar to natural hormone substances that are produced by...
Signs of RA have been found in the skeletal remains of Stone Age humans, and descriptions of RA have been found in the writings of doctors and healers for thousands of years. The ancient physicians...
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are medications that reduce fever, pain, and inflammation. They include a large group of anti-inflammatory agents that work by inhibiting the production of prostaglandins (chemicals in the body that cause inflammation)....
Remission in a person with RA can be defined as the absence of disease activity, such as swollen joints, pain, and stiffness. In the 1980s, when the authors of this book began practicing medicine, physicians...
Even people with advanced RA can benefit from medical treatment. The treatment benefits can include the following: Reduced joint pain Reduced involvement of other joints Increased mobility Reduced risk for cancer, heart disease, and stroke...
For people with RA, “watchful waiting” is not an appropriate treatment strategy. Medical studies reveal some important facts that demonstrate why early treatment of RA is necessary: The majority of joint destruction occurs in the...
The goals of RA treatment have evolved in the last decade. In the past, the best that a patient could hope for was decreased pain and stiffness. Today, thanks to more effective drugs and earlier,...
Rheumatoid arthritis does not appear to have any adverse effects on pregnancy outcome. Some medications used to treat RA have not been thoroughly studied in pregnant women, however, and should be used with caution in...
Patients with RA appear to have a higher risk of developing cancers of the lymph nodes, known as lymphomas. In the past, studies have shown that the risk of developing lymphoma appears to be greater...
Surveys of large groups of people show that individuals with RA have twice the rate of periodontal disease as people of the same age, sex, and socioeconomic status who do not have RA. Periodontal disease...
Although they are rare, joint infections do occur sometimes. It is important to know about this potential complication for two reasons. First, among all of the many types of arthritis, arthritis caused by infections results...
Infections are a frequent complication in people with RA. Their risk for developing lung infections or pneumonia is also increased, which constitutes a serious problem. In medical studies, investigators have found that people with RA...
I've heard that people with rheumatoid arthritis are prone to heart disease. Is that true? Yes, patients with RA have an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. In particular, RA is associated with...
Anemia—an abnormally low number of red blood cells in your bloodstream—is a common complication of RA. Indeed, of all the problems associated with RA that are not related to joints, anemia is the most common....