Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that usually involves various joints in the fingers, thumbs, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, feet and ankles.
With autoimmune diseases, the body's natural defense system mistakenly senses a bacterial or viral threat and releases enzymes that attack healthy tissues. In RA, these enzymes destroy the linings of joints.
This causes pain, swelling, stiffness, malformation, and reduced movement and function. People with RA also may experience symptoms unrelated to a specific joint, such as fever, weight loss, eye inflammation, anemia, subcutaneous nodules (bumps under the skin) or pleurisy (a painful inflammation of the lung). One of the first symptoms of a flare-up is often extreme exhaustion.
Medications used to treat RA can be divided into two groups:
Your physician may recommend using two or more together. Some medications affect the immune system or have other side effects—so careful monitoring is very important. Research on new medications for immune disorders is ongoing and new drugs are becoming available on a regular basis.
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