Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Paper
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by symmetrical synovitis and polyarticular inflammation (Firestein, 2003). In its primary stages, it affects the Metacarpophalangeal joints (MCPJ), Proximal Interphalangeal joints (PIPJ), and distal interphalangeal joints (DIPJ) of the hand, as well as the Metatarsophalangeal joints (MTPJ) joint of the feet (Aletaha & Smolen, 2018). Symptoms at this stage include fatigue, sore and swollen joints, morning stiffness, depression, sleeping difficulties, and flu-like sensations, paralleled by laboratory results displaying elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and RA-associated antibodies (Simons et al., 2015; Lin et al., 2020).
As the disease progresses, it affects larger joints in the wrist, shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles, causing irreparable joint damage, loss of cartilage, bone resorption, specific deformities (Firestein, 2003). If left untreated, it may lead to systemic involvement and extra-articular manifestations that lead to disabilities and increased mortality risk (Cojocaru et al., 2010). With a prevalence ranging from 0.3% to 1% of the general population, this disease is twice as common among women compared to men, with respective incident rates of 53 per 100,000 population and 27 per 100,000 population (Myasoedova et al., 2010). Although the peak incidence of this disease arises in the sixth decade of ones’ life, it can affect persons of all ages and tends to be significantly more prevalent in urban countries such as North American countries than in developing countries (Aletaha & Smolen, 2018; Alamanos et al., 2006). Despite the significant advancements in RA treatment, the incident rate of this disease has risen dramatically over time from 473 per 100,000 population in 1996 to 784 per 100,000 population in 2010 (Widdifield et al., 2014). Moreover, the survival rate in RA patients has declined in recent years (Doran et al., 2002). With mean annual direct and indirect treatment costs ranging from US$5720 to US$5822, the economic burden of RA is substantial for both patients and healthcare providers. It is of significance to develop a deeper understanding of the treatment and underlying mechanisms of RA to facilitate its prevention, increase the efficiency of treatment interventions, and improve the quality of life of persons living with RA.
This research aimed to outline the etiology and the underlying causes of rheumatoid arthritis and to investigate the mechanism of its treatment interventions. Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Underlying Mechanisms To date, the cause of RA is not very well known; despite this, a combination of genetic predisposition and exposure to environmental factors have been proven to trigger the development of this autoimmune disease. RA is a hereditary disease (Wysocki et al., 2020). Therefore, various genetic loci passed down from the parents favor the generation of autoreactive lymphocytes such as T and b cells that fail to recognize self-antigens and elicit an immune response without the possibility of a foreign antigen (Firestein, 2003).
