Rheumatic Diseases

Arthritis is the medical term for any disease that produces inflammation, pain, and stiffness in one or more joints. There are more than 100 different types, all of which are classified as rheumatic diseases.

Arthritis develops when cartilage, the tough, slippery material covering the ends of bones, is destroyed faster than the body can repair it. Aging, excessive wear and tear, infection, and inflammation contribute to the process. As the cartilage roughens and wears down, the ends of the bones become increasingly exposed and eventually damaged.

With gout, a type of arthritis, tiny mineral, or urate, crystals collect in certain joints, causing an intense inflammatory reaction. The crystals are composed of uric acid, a metabolic waste product normally excreted in the urine.

In people with a hereditary metabolic defect, uric acid builds up in the blood and other body fluids. Most people with this condition, called hyperuricemia, do not develop gout, but those who do experience recurring attacks in the affected joints may also suffer kidney stones.

(Fuuciarticular, Polyarticular, or Systemic JRA)

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, or JRA, is the most common type of arthritis in children. It develops before the age of 16 and can take one of three forms: Pauciarticular JRA, the mildest type, affects only a few joints, especially large ones such as the knees, ankles, and elbows. Different joints on either side of the body are usually involved. Polyarticular JRA, a more severe type, generally attacks five or more joints, often those of the fingers and hands, as well as weight-bearing joints, such as the hips, knees, and ankles. This form of JRA affects the same joints on both sides of the body.

Spinal arthritis is a chronic, progressive joint disease that affects mostly men. The condition's medical name, ankylosing spondylitis, comes from Greek words that describe what happens as the disease progresses: the spine (spondyl) becomes inflamed (itis) and the vertebrae fuse together (ankylosing). An estimated 300,000 Americans have been diagnosed with spinal arthritis, but the actual incidence may be much higher, because a large number of cases are so mild that they go undetected for decades.