A chronic autoimmune disease with inflammation of the joints and marked deformities; SYN. atrophic arthritis, rheumatism.
Inflammation of the joints; a chronic progressive disease, it begins with pain and stiffness in the small joints of the hands and feet and spreads to involve other joints, often with severe disability and disfigurement. There may also be damage to the eyes, nervous system and other organs. The disease is treated with a range of drugs and with surgery, possibly including replacement of major joints.
Rheumatoid arthritis most often develops between the ages of 30 and 40, and is three times more common in women than men. It is an autoimmune disease and new hope has come for sufferers with the announcement in Jan 1994, of an experimental drug which deactivates part of the immune system responsible for tissue damage. The drug, a monoclonal antibody, has performed well in preliminary trials, reducing pain and stiffness and improving mobility.
In the West it affects 2–3% of women and nearly 1% of men; an estimated 165 million people worldwide suffered from rheumatoid arthritis 1995.