Rheumatic Diseases
Rheumatic diseases affect more than just joints. The word ‘rheum’ actually means swollen and waterlogged, and the way rheumatoid arthritis affects joints to make them swollen and spongy is described in the section on bones and joints. In this condition there are antibodies, called rheumatoid factor, present in the blood, the same antibodies however can be found in other disorders. Besides the effects on joints virtually any other system in the body can be involved: the skin to produce subcutaneous swellings called rheumatoid nodules, the lungs to produce fibrosis and airways obstruction, blood vessels to produce vasculitis, the lining around the heart to produce pericarditis. Beside medicines to reduce the inflammation it may be necessary to use disease-modifying agents such as gold, and immunosuppressants including steroids. As with all treatments we need to balance the benefit with the cost in terms of side effects - all powerful agents have side-effects, and they may not be worth taking if the side-effects are worse than the original disease.
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