Everything about rheumatoid arthritis mayo clinic

A growing number of people across the globe suffer because their immune systems are unable to more distinguish between healthy cells and invader micro-organisms. Their organs and tissue are now being attacked by the disease defenses which they had previously.




A major international effort in research is in progress to reverse this trend. A London-based initiative known as the Francis Crick Institute, has two world experts, James Lee & Carola Vinuesa set up separate research teams to figure out the exact causes of the autoimmune condition.


Lee said to the Observer that cases of autoimmune disease were increasing in the West about 40 years ago. However, these diseases are now being seen in countries which have never had them before.


For example, the biggest recent rise in cases of inflammatory bowel disease is located in the Middle East and east Asia. Before that they had hardly had any experience with the disease.


Type 1 diabetes is among the autoimmune diseases. Other diseases include rheumatoid disease, inflammation of the bowel, and multiple sclerosis. Each situation is distinct. In all cases, the immune system crosses its wires and turns on healthy tissues instead of infectious agents.


Around 4 million people in the UK have suffered from these diseases. Some may be suffering more than one. It is widely believed that the number of cases of autoimmune disease is increasing by 3 to 9 percent each year. Numerous scientists believe that environmental factors are a key cause of this growth.


Lee, who previously worked at Cambridge University, said that the human genetic makeup hasn't changed in the past decades. There's got to be something external that's responsible for our predisposition to autoimmune disease.


Vinuesa an ex-student at the Australian National University, supported this concept. She highlighted the changes in diet as more countries were adopting western eating habits, and people were eating much more fast-food.


Vinuesa stated that fast-food meals contain a few essential ingredients, like fiber. The evidence suggests that this change could affect a person's microbiome which is the accumulation of microorganisms living in our gut. These microorganisms play a crucial role in controlling many bodily functions.


The changes in our microbiomes then create autoimmune conditions There are more than 100 kinds.


Both scientists stressed that there are individual susceptibilities to such illnesses. This includes celiac as well as Lupus. It causes inflammation and swelling, and can cause damage and death to various organs, including the heart.


Vinuesa states that a person who does not have a particular genetic susceptibility will not get an autoimmune disease, regardless of how many Big Macs they eat. We can't stop the growth of fast-food restaurants across the globe. Instead we're trying to discover the basic genetic factors that lead to the development of autoimmune diseases, and makes some people susceptible but others not. We want to tackle the issue at that level."


Modern technology has made it possible to spot tiny differences in the DNA of large numbers of individuals. This is the way it's possible to determine common genetic patterns for people suffering from an auto immune disease.


Up until recently we didn't have the tools for this, but we're able to analyze DNA on a massive scale, and it has transformed everything, said Lee. Inflammatory bowel disease was just one of the DNA variants that we could identify at the time I started my study. We now know about 250.


Lee and Vinuesa focus their efforts on this particular type of research. They want to learn more about genetic pathway and discover the root causes of various diseases they are studying. Vinuesa has stated that there are numerous variations of autoimmune diseases, like Lupus. And that has a consequence when you are trying to determine the best treatment.


There are a lot of new therapies that are likely to be beneficial but we don't have the right Check out patients. In fact, we don’t have the data we require to know if they have the same disease. This is an important goal in the field of autoimmune research. To find the best treatment, it's essential to know how to group and categorize patients.


Lee added that the increasing cases of autoimmune illnesses across the globe meant that innovative therapies Check out and medicines were much more urgently needed than before. There are currently no treatments for autoimmune disease, which often occur in teens, who are trying to get their first job, finish school, and raise their families.


This means that more and more of patients will need to undergo surgery or have regular injections. This can be very difficult for patients, and puts a strain on the health system. So, it is essential to discover effective and innovative treatment options.


Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. It is caused by the immune system attacks healthy body tissues. But, we don't know what triggers it.


The immune system naturally produces antibodies that fight off bacteria and viruses.


If you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis the immune system releases antibodies to the joint's lining, where they attack adjacent tissue.


This causes the tiny layer of cells (synovium) covering your joints to become painful and inflamed, releasing chemicals that harm nearby tissues:


bones

Cartilage is the connective tissue between bones which is made of cartilage.

tendons - the tissue which connects muscle to bone

Ligaments form the connective tissue that connects bone and cartilage.

If rheumatoid joint disease isn't treated, the chemicals slowly make the joint loose its shape and alignment. The final result may be irreparable.


Though there are many theories about why the immune system is attacking joints, none of them have been proven.

Possible risk factors

Rheumatoid arthritis can result from a number of factors, including:


The genes you carry - There is some evidence that the rheumatoid arthritis condition can be passed through families. However, the probability of it being passed to children is very low as genes play an important role in the condition.

Hormones are responsible for causing arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is now more prevalent than ever in women, possibly because of the hormone effects of oestrogen. However, this link, has never been proven.

Smoking - Evidence suggests that smokers are more likely to get rheumatoid arthritis.