Rheumatoid Arthritis Pocket Guide: Full illustrated 2016

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About Rheumatoid Arthritis Pocket Guide: Full Illustrated

IntroductionRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that results in significant functional disability due to progressive and widespread joint destruction and soft tissue damage, not only in the limbs but also the inflammatory processes can ultimately have an effect on most organ systems in the body, with devastating morbid consequences. Therefore, appropriate management of RA needs to address not only the impact on joints, but also the whole body, the person suffering from the disease, their families and carers, and where appropriate their employers.Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with substantial economic and healthcare costs,1 RA is presumed to affect between 0.5 and 1% of the population worldwide.2 Two or three times as many women as men suffer from the disease, which can hit at any age, although the peak age of onset in between 30 and 55 years. The major issues in the clinical management of RA have been the absence of a cure, and the inability to halt progression of the disease. The consequences of incomplete control of chronic inflammation in established disease, including pain, disability and co-morbidities (such as cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis) still pose a significant clinical challenge in the management of this disease. Furthermore, its heterogeneity – the disease affects people in different ways, not knowing its causes, identifying the risk factors, and identifying the most appropriate therapy are all issues with the management of RA.However, in the last 10 to 15 years enormous advances in our understanding of the pathogenic processes have led to the development of new targeted therapies, in particular the biological response modifiers or biologics. There are now nine of these products available, and although they are costly, the clinical outcomes continue to look promising. Concurrent with development of these new drugs has come the increased awareness of the disease and improved and earlier diagnosi