The disease is also known as: RA, seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, seropositive rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic disease of connective tissue with progressive damage mainly to peripheral joints, with damage to internal organs (kidneys, lungs, etc.).
The disease can develop at any age, somewhat more often in women, with a rapidly progressive course.
RA is a consequence of immunopathological disorders (autoaggression) developing in the human body.
You may have heard that Glenn Frey, founder of the popular music group the Eagles, recently died from complications of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), advanced ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia. He was 67 years old. According to the musicians of this group: “. ..it was rheumatoid arthritis that played a role in his untimely death. And colitis and pneumonia were side effects from taking the medications ." The musicians believe their leader died from complications after medicating his rheumatoid arthritis for 15 years.
It is true that medications are often prescribed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, but these medications are some of the most dangerous on the market. These drugs include: prednisone, tumor necrosis factor alpha , and sometimes even prescribed anti-cancer drugs like Methotrescate .
In addition, long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and analgesics can also lead to conditions that threaten the functioning of the liver and kidneys. Moreover, paracetamol, often prescribed for RA, is actually the number one cause of acute liver failure.
It’s very bad, but modern medicine does not help change the lifestyle of RA patients. Considering the severe side effects of prescribed medications, it would be correct, first of all, to change lifestyle, which does not lead to increased risks to health and life.
There are many examples where changes in diet and daily behavior contributed to the transition of the disease to the stage of long-term remission. We can say that approximately 80% of patients are able to achieve remission or significant improvements in well-being when switching to a healthy lifestyle.
CYTOKINES IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (http://www.nature.com/nri/journal/v7/n6/fig_tab/nri2094_F3.html)
Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1% of the world's population. This disease is characterized by chronic inflammation of the cartilage and connective tissue of the joints of the body. This inflammation is the result when our immune system makes a mistake and, instead of hostile microorganisms, attacks cartilage, bones and joints, trying to destroy these tissues as enemies.
As a result, serious damage to body tissue occurs in the form of limited mobility and decreased ability to function. It is known that some level of disability will occur in 50-70% of people diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis within 5 years of the onset of the disease, and half of these people will no longer be able to work within 10 years.
But RA can also attack body tissue beyond the joints. It is estimated that about 15-25% of RA patients live with a diagnosis of an “extra-articular” form of rheumatoid arthritis. This form of RA can manifest as pericarditis , pleurisy , inflammation of the blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and the development of infections. Ultimately, this course of the disease can lead to death.
Unlike the more common degenerative joint disease osteoarthritis , the severe joint damage of rheumatoid arthritis can lead to significant and painful joint deformity and, as mentioned, can be fatal. Women suffer from this disease to a greater extent than men.
One of the hallmark symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis is pain in the arms and/or legs. Such pain tends to affect proximal joints more than distal ones, such as the joint closest to the palm, as opposed to the finger joints.
At the core of this disease is chronic inflammation , and so far only 1% of people diagnosed with RA are known to show spontaneous remissions, but this does not mean that the disease cannot be successfully treated.
If you've been diagnosed with RA (or any other chronic disease that involves inflammation, such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer), the first step in your diet should be to seriously cut back on sugar in your diet . Switching to more natural (preferably organic) foods that are low in sugar (easily digestible carbohydrates) will be an important action in order to suppress inflammation. And foods that are saturated with sugar (fast food, processed foods, sweets, carbonated drinks) should be avoided.
Next, you need to consider the possibility of reducing your diet or completely eliminating foods containing gluten . This action may be useful if you have a certain genetic predisposition to gluten intolerance (it is worth getting tested). It is known that people with a family history of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, may be at increased risk of an allergic reaction (intolerance) to wheat and gluten.
What's more, most high-glycemic grains and foods containing fructose (including fruit) may continue to promote inflammation, regardless of your genetic predisposition. And you should treat such foods with great caution so as not to add gasoline to the fire.
In 2014, a study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that examined the relationship between consumption of sugary carbonated drinks and the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. The study involved more than 200,000 women (whose medical histories were reviewed by scientists over a period of about 40 years). The level of consumption of carbonated drinks was determined using a nutrition questionnaire, which was filled out by the subjects 4 times a year.
After adjusting for confounders, the researchers found that women who drank one or more sodas per day had a 63% greater risk of developing RA, compared with those who drank less than one soda per month or no soda at all. And this addiction did not respond to other dietary or lifestyle preferences.
RELATIONSHIP OF “LEAKY GUINT” SYNDROME WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF VARIOUS DISEASES, INCLUDING AUTOIMMUNE NATURE
The health of your gut microflora plays an important role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Sugar promotes the growth of pathogenic microflora in the gut , and once your gut microflora becomes unbalanced, you experience a ripple effect of negative health effects - one of which is immune system dysfunction and out-of-control inflammation.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have characteristic changes in the microflora of the intestines and mouth. In one Chinese study, researchers examined feces, dental samples, and saliva from healthy people and patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers have found significant differences in the microflora of RA patients compared to healthy subjects. haemophilus spp were found in patients with RA , and the bacteria Lactobacillus salivarius was significantly increased. In addition, the scientists found that RA patients had an altered ability of the body to absorb iron, sulfur, zinc and arginine.
Interestingly, there are certain types of bacteria that correlate with the development of rheumatoid arthritis. For example, according to the results of one American study, the bacterium Prevotella spp. appears to play a role in the development of RA. Scientists analyzed the stool of healthy people and patients with RA and found that the bacteria Prevotella spp. were present in 75% of people with RA, and only 21% of healthy people were found to have these microorganisms.
But this is not the first bacteria to be linked to rheumatoid arthritis. Another study found that DNA from an oral bacterium called Porphyromonas gingivalis was present in the synovial fluid of affected RA joints. Scientists from Martin Luther University who conducted this study found that patients with rheumatoid arthritis had 4.5 times the amount of this bacterium in their joints than that observed in healthy people. In addition, scientists concluded that a decrease in the number of teeth in the oral cavity is associated with the activation of this bacterium and an increase in the risk of developing RA .
Based on such studies, some rheumatologists have developed protocols for treating RA with small doses of antibiotics, in particular tetracycline. But such treatment, even with a small amount of antibiotics, is toxic to the body and intestinal microflora, in particular.
Therefore, a more beneficial route may be to follow a treatment protocol that places the greatest emphasis on changing diet and using other natural treatments. For example, one clinical randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that probiotics may help patients with RA. Over the course of six weeks, the researchers gave 45 RA patients lactic acid bacteria in a probiotic or placebo, in addition to their usual medications. The probiotic used bacteria Bacillus coagulans and gbi-30, 6086 , a strain that can withstand the low pH of stomach acid.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who received the probiotic were able to walk two miles daily and engage in daily activities based on their health and joint function. Compared with placebo, these RA patients had less pain, less disability, and lower C-reactive protein levels. C-reactive protein (CRP) is known to be produced by the liver and its blood levels increase in response to inflammation and decrease when inflammation decreases.
Vitamin D is a very important component in the treatment of RA. This vitamin (actually a hormone) stimulates the production of more than 300 anti-microbial peptides, which are even more powerful than antibiotics. Vitamin D helps improve and regulate your immune system and help fight infections. Many people with rheumatoid arthritis find that their symptoms are particularly severe in the winter and often improve in the spring and summer. This is a very important point that shows the positive effects of vitamin D.
It would help if you maintained healthy levels of vitamin D through sun and supplementation almost year-round. Indeed, in January, February and March, the level of this vitamin in your body will decrease to a very low (and therefore harmful) value. It would be nice if you could track your vitamin D levels monthly so you can adjust your supplement dosage or sun exposure time. Your goal is to achieve a healthy vitamin D level of 40-60 ng/ml .
As scientists note, vitamin D deficiency is associated with rheumatoid arthritis. In one Polish study, 97 patients with RA took part, and 76% of them were vitamin D deficient. In addition, a pattern was noted: the less vitamin D there was in the patients’ bodies, the more aggressive this disease behaved.
The effect of vitamin D supplementation on improving the well-being of patients with rheumatoid arthritis was examined in an Indian study of 73 people with RA who showed very low vitamin D levels (less than 20 ng/ml). received 60,000 IU of vitamin D per week for 6 weeks, and then the dose was changed to 60,000 IU per month for 3 months. At the end of the experiment, the average vitamin D level increased from approximately 10 ng/ml to approximately 57 ng/ml. Researchers have found that vitamin D supplements lead to significant improvements in disease activity over a short period of time.
Moreover, healthier vitamin D levels may reduce the recurrence rate of rheumatoid arthritis . For example, in one study there were 377 patients with RA who were divided into two groups. Some people received vitamin D, while others received a placebo. After 24 months of the trial, those RA patients who received vitamin D supplements had a relapse rate of 19%, compared with 30% in the group of people who did not take vitamin D.
VITAMIN D LEVELS THAT CAN MAKE YOUR HEALTH WORSE OR IMPROVE
Most rheumatologists have a list of some medications for pain relief, in addition to the more toxic drugs. While these medications may help relieve symptoms, they do absolutely nothing about the underlying cause of the disease. What's worse, many of these drugs can cause more problems than they solve, and some of the more toxic drugs can cause serious health problems when taken long-term.
It is known that pain relief is an important aspect of RA treatment. If the pain does not stop, then you may be prescribed to take medications to suppress (lower) the immune system, which naturally disrupts the normal functioning of the immune system and contributes to a new relapse of rheumatoid arthritis. If you choose a drug, be sure to use the safest one, and only when necessary. But longer-term relief can only be achieved if you begin to address inflammation, which is the main cause of pain in RA.
The safest painkillers include:
In the next article on the topic of rheumatoid arthritis, we will look at the entire protocol for natural treatment of this disease. And at the end of this article there will be a link to the continuation.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a complex disease of an autoimmune nature, which mainly affects the small joints of the upper and lower extremities. In this case, erosive and destructive changes in articular tissues occur; as a rule, other internal organs are also affected in the later stages.
For what reasons does rheumatoid arthritis begin to develop is a question to which an exact answer has not yet been found. Despite constant research into the etiology of the disease, scientists have not come to a consensus. The most common version is that the formation of pathology is genetically determined.
The body does not recognize the cells of its own connective tissues, the immune system begins to produce antibodies and destroy them. The impetus for this process can be certain viruses and infections in the human body - but only if he has a predisposition to RA.
The course of the disease is acute, the symptoms of the initial stage resemble those of a sore throat or a severe cold:
Rheumatoid arthritis affects several joints at once, similar to polyarthritis. In most cases, the joints are affected symmetrically on both limbs.
How successful the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis will be, its duration largely depends on the patient himself - like the treatment of almost every disease. The only difference is that an unfavorable prognosis for RA can lead to disability and even death.
Therefore, from the very beginning, the patient must tune in to full and long-term cooperation with doctors, follow all recommendations, take a responsible attitude towards his health every day - then the prognosis for life will be favorable and the treatment will give good results.
It is important not to ignore alarming symptoms, to start treatment as early as possible and not to interrupt it even if it improves - then it is possible to stop the development of pathology, avoid irreversible changes in the tissues of the knee joint and maintain physical activity. If you experience these symptoms, you should consult a doctor immediately.
Pain with rheumatoid arthritis can be of a very different nature:
If you take a painkiller or anti-inflammatory drug, the aching pain usually subsides. In 90% of all cases of the disease, small joints of the hands - phalangeal and wrist - are affected. Lesions of the ankle or knee joint are less common.
Rheumatoid arthritis can affect only one or two joints - these forms are called monoarthritis or oligoarthritis. But more often, pathological changes affect several joints located symmetrically.
Morning joint stiffness is a characteristic symptom of rheumatoid arthritis - this is stiffness of the knee, elbow, and wrist joints in the morning, the inability to move the fingers or toes, bend or straighten them. The reasons for this phenomenon are the accumulation of inflammatory exudate in the cavity of the knee or other joint overnight, when a person remains motionless for several hours in a row.
The duration of attacks of stiffness is from half an hour to one and a half or two hours. After development of the knee, shoulder, and elbow joints, the patient returns to activity.
Sometimes for the rest of the day he no longer feels any pain or discomfort.
When palpating the affected knee joint, the patient feels pain. The joints themselves are swollen, the skin over them is hot and may turn red. The general body temperature also increases, while the patient complains of aching muscle pain throughout the body.
At the initial stage of the disease, the temperature may remain normal or increase slightly. But if an exacerbation of rheumatoid arthritis begins, the temperature becomes higher and higher, in some cases even lung damage appears due to rheumatoid arthritis.
All these symptoms are a reason for examination by a rheumatologist, which cannot be postponed - the prognosis for life with RA depends on this. You should not try to drown out the pain with medications recommended by friends or advertising - independent treatment of rheumatoid arthritis at home is impossible.
This will only make the situation worse and allow the disease to progress. External symptoms can be relieved with folk remedies or pills for a while. But the tissues of the knee, wrist, and elbow joints will continue to deteriorate, and if comprehensive treatment is not started, they will completely lose their functionality, which cannot always be completely restored even with the help of surgery.
Diagnosis and treatment of RA is carried out by a rheumatologist. At the first consultation, he will conduct a detailed interview with the patient. The symptoms and manifestations of the disease are clarified, and the approximate timing of the onset of its development is established.
Since the signs of RA resemble those of numerous joint pathologies, differential diagnosis is necessary in most cases. It is important to exclude other diseases in order to prescribe correct and effective treatment. Differentiation is required with the following diseases:
Naturally, one interview and examination of the patient is not enough. Numerous additional examinations are required to make an accurate diagnosis. The following diagnostic methods are used:
Sometimes these studies are not enough to make an accurate diagnosis, and the attending physician or specialist prescribes other, additional ones. This is really necessary to determine the form of the disease, stage, to identify or exclude possible complications.
If the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is confirmed, this does not mean that the patient is doomed; treatment is pointless and will only delay the moment when he finally loses physical activity and becomes disabled. There is really no way to completely cure rheumatoid arthritis.
But it’s realistic to maintain activity, achieve remission and prolong it as much as possible. The treatment will not be easy and will last for the rest of your life. A favorable prognosis is possible if you realize as early as possible that you will now have to live according to a completely new regime and rules.
You will have to regularly undergo scheduled examinations and preventive courses of treatment in a hospital or sanatorium, and thoroughly review your daily routine, distribution of physical activity, diet and personal habits.
Neglecting at least one of these points can lead to the most tragic and already irreversible consequences.
Therefore, we can say that the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is, for the most part, the desire of the patient himself to become healthy and not lose activity for as long as possible.
There is no complete cure for rheumatoid arthritis. If RA is diagnosed for the first time, the doctor will definitely register the patient for regular medical examination and place him in the hospital.
In a hospital setting, the patient will undergo a comprehensive examination, only after which a prognosis will be made and treatment will begin. The main method used throughout the treatment is medication.
In acute forms of the disease, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. NSAIDs quickly relieve the most unpleasant symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. But they do not have any therapeutic effect on rheumatoid arthritis itself. To treat the disease, other means are needed.
But non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs significantly improve the patient’s quality of life, freeing him from constant, excruciating pain in the knee joint, restoring activity and performance. The problem is that you can't take them all the time. And as soon as the NSAID is stopped, pain and stiffness in the knee, ankle or wrist joint return.
Almost all non-steroidal drugs have a number of contraindications and side effects, so only a doctor selects them. To find the optimal one, which would be most effective and at the same time not have a strong negative impact on other organs, you will need to try several different ones.
Therefore, the patient must be in a hospital setting, under constant medical supervision. The doctor will monitor the patient’s condition, monitor the effectiveness of treatment and, if necessary, adjust the dosage of the selected drug and treatment regimen. If the medicine turns out to be ineffective, it will be replaced with another.
In parallel, drugs of another group are used - the so-called basic ones. They stop the destructive process in the connective tissues of the knee joint at the cellular level and directly treat rheumatoid arthritis. They are used in the treatment of cancer. But for rheumatoid arthritis, the dosages are completely different, and therefore the harm to the body is minimal.
Individual intolerance of a patient to a particular drug is often discovered. In this case, he is excluded from the treatment program and another drug is sought. Only after doctors are convinced that the treatment regimen has been drawn up correctly and the most effective safe drugs have been selected will the patient be discharged home.
Further treatment can be continued independently, not forgetting about regular follow-up examinations. But if there is an exacerbation, you will have to be treated again in the appropriate department of the hospital.
Nutrition is very important for successful treatment. The diet involves the complete exclusion of sweets and confectionery, including jam. Occasionally a little condensed milk is allowed. Not limited to:
All foods must be steamed, boiled or baked. You can eat bread, but only rye or bran; salt consumption is no more than 3.5 grams. per day. Alcoholic drinks are prohibited.
If all these rules are followed, the prognosis is positive - it is possible to achieve stable remission into old age. With careless treatment, disability occurs within 5-6 years. Extra-articular complications of RA - for example, lung damage from rheumatoid arthritis - can lead to death. This is discussed in detail in the video in this article.
You've probably seen twisted joints in the hands of older people? Or maybe you know about this problem firsthand? Rheumatoid arthritis has begun to affect more and more people in recent decades.
And the main problem is that doctors cannot come to a consensus about this disease.
They have not yet found the reasons for its appearance. And treatment is limited to strong painkillers, which cause irreparable harm to human health.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that appears in people as a result of man-made pollution of air, water, and food with heavy metals. As a result of poor nutrition, primarily a large amount of animal meat, fats and artificial “Dead” food. And it proceeds completely differently from inflammation of the joints after injury or arthrosis.
Now you understand that in case of rheumatoid joint damage, medications can only relieve acute pain - nothing more. Medicines have NO curative effect on this terrible disease. They only DESTROY the body even more. After finishing taking the medication, the exacerbation occurs again! There are simply no medications that TREAT this disease!
Another problem is that the number of rheumatoid arthritis specialists in medical institutions is very small and they recommend standard treatment methods - hormones, cytostatics, and other toxic substances that simply destroy our immunity. Is this a way out? Is this a treatment?
What to do? What should I do? How to help a sick person?
Let's first try to figure it out: what are the causes of this disease?
Today, scientists have established for sure that this is a malfunction of the immune system. Your own immunity rushes to the joints and destroys them.
The impetus for an immune attack can be any previous infectious disease - most often viral or bacterial. Another possible reason is psychological stress.
And the body begins to actively attack everything foreign that is in it. But it turns out that it not only contains viruses that really need to be destroyed, but also contains a large amount of toxins and heavy metals, which, as scientists have established, accumulate precisely in the cartilage tissue of the joints. This is where the brave warriors of our immunity rush and attack. They want to rid our body of foreign and dangerous substances, but at the same time they destroy themselves - their own joints.
It was found that it is almost always interconnected that people suffering from any types of allergies develop rheumatoid arthritis as they age.
Now you understand that the cause of this terrible disease is the general contamination of the body with toxins. And it is useless to “treat” yourself using standard methods. On the contrary, with such treatment, you poison yourself even more and aggravate your condition, bringing aging and your death closer.
In fact, your own health is in your hands. You need to change your thinking, change your lifestyle, and most importantly, change your diet! We eat dead food, stuffed with toxins, preservatives and other chemicals. It is unacceptable!
Scientists have conducted studies of thousands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis -
Hair analysis was done for toxic microelements. The results were horrifying.
An accumulation of arsenic, mercury, nickel, aluminum, and excess magnesium, strontium, and manganese were detected. All these people experienced immunological disruptions of various types.
So, know that if you have allergies, your chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis increases as you age. If you are prone to stress, depression, are an emotionally unstable person, and react violently to little things, then this unpleasant disease may also befall you as you age.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that is difficult to treat. Mostly women over 40 years of age are affected, and the small joints of the feet and hands are most often affected. Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely get rid of the disease, but with the right approach it is possible to reduce the activity of destructive and inflammatory processes in the joints. Thanks to this, symptoms will disappear and quality of life will improve.
In the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, systematicity is of great importance. Regular use of basic medications, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or steroid hormones is required. Medicines along with a healthy lifestyle will help keep the disease under control.
It is impossible to name a reliable cause for the development of rheumatoid arthritis, since it is a polyetiological disease. Usually, for its occurrence, the presence of several etiological factors is necessary. Increase the risk of pathology:
Genetic predisposition or concomitant diseases do not always lead to the appearance of rheumatoid arthritis. To start a pathological process, a provoking (starting, trigger) factor is required. Under its influence, cells of the immune system begin to attack the intraarticular (synovial) membranes, causing inflammation.
The most common trigger factors are:
Nothing can be done about the first three reasons, but the rest can be eliminated if desired. By removing the provoking factor, you can greatly slow down the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Therefore, it is important to replace the first signs of the disease in time and begin to fight it.
Rheumatoid arthritis first attacks the small joints of the hands, then spreads to the remaining, larger joints. The lesion is symmetrical. If the fingers on your right hand get sore, your left hand will soon get sore as well.
RA can be distinguished from other joint diseases by the following signs:
Rheumatoid arthritis is also characterized by a number of nonspecific symptoms:
In the absence of adequate timely treatment, severe deformation of the joints occurs, due to which the sick person becomes unable to perform usual activities. Later, the digestive, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems are drawn into the pathological process. The liver and kidneys are affected. Severe complications often lead to death.
Drug therapy is an important component of the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, without eliminating the provoking factors, it is not effective enough. A healthy lifestyle helps to significantly reduce the activity of inflammation in the joints and eliminate unpleasant symptoms of the disease.
Lifestyle modifications for RA should be as follows:
1. Find and eliminate the provoking factor - this must be done first;
2. avoid hypothermia and heavy physical work;
3. eat right;
4. get rid of excess weight;
5. be less nervous, avoid stressful situations.
Following simple rules of a healthy lifestyle will significantly increase the effectiveness of drug treatment, help overcome exacerbations and prolong the period of remission as much as possible.
If the disease started after a sore throat, flu or as a result of another infection, nothing can be done about it. However, almost half of sick women claim that their symptoms of the disease arose after severe stress. This negative factor can be easily eliminated by simply stopping being nervous.
It is necessary to exclude the effect of toxic substances, the influence of medications, the presence of endocrine, autoimmune, chronic inflammatory diseases - all of them can be provoking factors. Without eliminating them, RA treatment will be ineffective.
It is known that RA is an autoimmune disease. Products with allergenic properties aggravate its manifestations. To determine which food negatively affects the course of the disease, you can use an elimination diet.
To this end, you should exclude a certain product from the diet for 1-2 weeks, then return it back for one day and monitor the body’s reaction. If arthritis worsens, then this product needs to be removed from the diet forever.
Most often, the course of RA is aggravated by:
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis noticeably improve their condition when consuming large amounts of plant foods. It is a source of a number of vitamins, organic substances, and microelements that have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. Therefore, it is advisable to eat at least 300 grams of vegetables (excluding potatoes) and 200 grams of fruits daily.
You should also include fatty fish in your diet - it will provide the body with omega-3 acids and vitamin D3. Eating soy products, leafy greens and dairy products will prevent the development of osteoporosis as these foods are good sources of calcium.
It makes sense for rheumatoid lesions of the leg joints. To avoid further injury to inflamed joints, you should reduce your intake of:
You can talk a lot about how to lose weight. More about this in the article “If you really want to lose weight.”
The article was prepared by doctor Lopushnyak Alina Sergeevna
scientific article on medicine and healthcare, author of the scientific work - Andrianova I. A. Amirdzhanova V. N. Zhornyak A. P. Krichevskaya O. A. Galushko E. A. Folomeeva O. M.
Target. To study the quality of life and quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) observed at the Institute of Rheumatology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Material and methods. The study was conducted within the framework of the MIRAGE program (multicenter study of quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis) in 5 centers in the Central region of the Russian Federation according to a single protocol. The paper presents preliminary results of the first stage of the study of one of the centers (Moscow). We examined 86 patients with definite RA (81 women, 5 men), who applied for a consultation at the clinic or were hospitalized at the Institute of Rheumatology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in the period from November 2003 to April 2005. Results. A significant influence of disease activity and duration on various components of the quality of life of RA patients was revealed. Patients with remission of RA have a higher level of social functioning. A significant change in the psychological state of RA patients has been shown.
Objective. To study quality of life (QL) of pts with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) followed up in the Institute of Rheumatology of RAMS Materials and methods. The study was performed as a part of MEQLRA (Multicenter Examination of Quality of Life in RA) program in 5 centers of Russian Federation Central region according to shared protocol. Results of the 1st stage of the study from one of the centers (Moscow) are presented. 86 pts with RA (81 female and 5 male) examined in outpatient department or in hospital of the Institute of Rheumatology from November 2003 till April 2005 were included. Results. Significant influence of activity and duration of the disease on different QL components of pts with RA was revealed. Pts with remission of RA have significantly higher index of social functioning. Significant change in psychological state of pts with RA was shown.
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Andrianova I. A. Amirdzhanova V. N. Zhornyak A. P. Krichevskaya O. A. Galushko E. A. Folomeeva O. M. Comprehensive assessment of the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis // Scientific and practical rheumatology. 2006. No. 2. URL: http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/kompleksnaya-otsenka-kachestva-zhizni-bolnyh-revmatoidnym-artritom (date of access: 25.12).
Andrianova I. A. et al. Comprehensive assessment of the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis Scientific and Practical Rheumatology (2006). URL: http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/kompleksnaya-otsenka-kachestva-zhizni-bolnyh-revmatoidnym-artritom (date of access: 25.12).
Andrianova I. A. Amirdzhanova V. N. Zhornyak A. P. Krichevskaya O. A. Galushko E. A. Folomeeva O. M. (2006). Comprehensive assessment of the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Scientific and practical rheumatology URL: http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/kompleksnaya-otsenka-kachestva-zhizni-bolnyh-revmatoidnym-artritom (access date: December 25).
Andrianova I. A. Amirdzhanova V. N. Zhornyak A. P. Krichevskaya O. A. Galushko E. A. Folomeeva O. M. Comprehensive assessment of the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis // Scientific and practical rheumatology. 2006. No. 2 P.11-17.
Andrianova I. A. et al. Comprehensive assessment of the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis Scientific and Practical Rheumatology (2006).
Andrianova I. A. Amirdzhanova V. N. Zhornyak A. P. Krichevskaya O. A. Galushko E. A. Folomeeva O. M. (2006). Comprehensive assessment of the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Scientific and practical rheumatology
Over the past 20 years, the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has improved significantly. This is evidenced by the results of a study by employees of Utrecht University (the Netherlands), published in the journal of the American College of Rheumatology Arthritis Care Research.
The study, which lasted from 1990 to 2011, involved 1,151 patients with RA (age 17-86 years), of whom 68% were women. All volunteers were observed for 3-5 years after diagnosis.
Based on the results of the work, the authors stated that 20 years ago, after the first four years of treatment, 23% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis experienced anxiety (anxiety is anxiety), 25% complained of depressed mood, and 53% had limitations in physical activity. Currently, such complaints occur in 12%, 14% and 31% of patients, respectively.
“We found that now one in four patients experience limitations in physical activity after the first four years of treatment, whereas 20 years ago this figure was twice as high: two patients out of four. “People with rheumatoid arthritis are now able to live more fulfilling lives than they did 20 years ago,” said lead study author Cecile Overman.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic inflammatory disease of connective tissue with predominant damage to the joints of the type of chronic progressive destructive polyarthritis. The etiology and pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis remain unclear. Rheumatoid arthritis affects 1-2% of adults, regardless of race and climatic conditions, 70% of patients are women. The disease begins at any age, but more often at 30-50 years of age. According to experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), currently about 1% of the world's population has symptoms of RA.
Already at the first symptoms of arthritis of the big toe, treatment should be comprehensive and, if possible, aimed at eliminating the factors that led to inflammation of the joint. This disease occurs mainly in women starting from the age of forty.
It is manifested by pain, redness of the skin in the articulation area, and swelling of the periarticular tissues. Walking or any other physical activity on the foot leads to a significant increase in pain. Doctors who treat arthritis of the big toe are an orthopedic traumatologist, a rheumatologist, a therapist or a family doctor.
There are several types of diseases that affect the small joints of the foot, including the joints of the big toe.
Very often, the first sign of gout noticeable to the patient himself is severe pain in the thumb area. This is explained by the development of gouty arthritis, in which destruction of periarticular and cartilaginous tissue occurs by accumulations of uric acid crystals. Gout is a chronic disease that requires a special diet and medications that remove uric acid from the body.
The disease affects all joints of the fingers, including the big toe. The inflammation is persistent, progressive, and without adequate treatment leads to loss of ability to work. The disease is of an autoimmune nature and requires a serious approach to treatment and long-term use of so-called basic therapy.
Inflammation of the joints in psoriasis is usually accompanied by skin changes characteristic of this disease - so-called psoriatic plaques. However, in 12-25% of cases, arthritis may be the only symptom of the disease.
In severe and advanced cases, the inflammation is so severe that it leads to significant shortening of the toes. This is due to the destruction of bone and cartilage tissue of the joints, which contributes to serious deformations and disfigurement of the limbs.
Osteoarthritis usually develops due to constant wearing of narrow high-heeled shoes, genetic predisposition, excess body weight, after a foot injury, etc. Also, the joints of the bones of the foot can become inflamed due to various infectious diseases. When treating osteoarthritis, the main goal is to eliminate infection and inflammation, as well as lifestyle changes.
Typical symptoms of acute arthritis include the following:
Chronic forms of inflammation of the thumb occur in waves. In this case, relapses are replaced by remissions. During an exacerbation, the symptoms resemble the picture of acute arthritis (the more pronounced they are, the stronger the exacerbation of the disease), and during the period of remission a person can feel practically healthy, pain in the foot does not bother him.
It must be remembered that the chronic course of the disease with frequent relapses gradually leads to organic changes in the articular tissues. Most often this is accompanied by the following pathological changes:
Signs of joint inflammation can be symmetrical, that is, observed on both limbs (for example, with polyarthritis). Manifestations of polyarthritis can only be within one foot, for example, after an injury.
When treating joint inflammation, it is necessary, first of all, to eliminate factors that aggravate the course of the disease and follow the following recommendations:
To improve blood circulation processes and accelerate the regeneration of joint tissues, it is necessary to give up smoking, eating fatty and spicy foods, strong alcoholic and caffeine-containing drinks. Foot massage is also useful, the basic techniques of which will be taught to the patient by a specialist.
If arthritis is caused by a systemic chronic disease, then you should definitely take appropriate medications that will help relieve inflammation and bring about remission. When choosing medications, you should be guided by medical prescriptions. To alleviate your general condition and relieve pain, you can take the following steps:
Folk remedies turn out to be very effective if used in combination with other types of treatment. Their choice and method of use must be agreed with the doctor. For joints, external rubbing and compresses are most often used, and infusions and decoctions are also taken internally. Here are some of the popular recipes:
Treatment of inflammation of small joints in gout, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis has its own characteristics.
As basic therapy, it is necessary to take drugs that remove uric acid salts from the body - allopurinol and its analogues. The daily dosage is selected by the doctor. With regular use of allopurinol, the level of uric acid begins to decrease within 2-3 days from the start of treatment, and returns to normal by the middle or end of the second week of taking the drug. However, in order for deposits of uric acid salts to begin to resolve, at least six months of continuous therapy are required.
For gout, a predominantly vegetarian diet is recommended, with a limit on meat dishes. The consumption of the following products should be limited: baked goods, meat and sausages, legumes, cheese, sorrel, offal, coffee.
The basis of treatment is basic therapy drugs - methotrexate, glucocorticosteroid hormones, gold preparations, etc. The drug itself and the dosage are selected by a rheumatologist. These medications do not relieve pain, but they prevent further destruction of the joint and its complete immobility. Treatment is long-term, over several years or decades. In case of complete immobility of the joints of the small bones of the foot, endoprosthetics is indicated.
There is no special diet for this disease, however, an improvement in the condition was noticed when excluding from the diet or sharply reducing the consumption of animal products.
Therapy for a sore thumb with psoriasis includes the following therapeutic measures:
As with rheumatoid arthritis, in case of loss of mobility, prosthetics are indicated.
Treatment for arthritis of the big toe is in most cases long-term and requires patience and effort on the part of the patient. It brings results if you adhere to a healthy lifestyle and use the entire range of classical and traditional medicine, following medical recommendations.