Presentation explaining what rheumatoid arthritis and other RMDs are, their increasing burden, risk factors, diagnosis, and an overview of treatment options.

1. Global Research Institute of Pharmacy,
Radaur, Yamunanagar
Rheumatoid
Arthritis
Awareness
Day- 2 Feb
Tavleen kaur
Assistant professor
pharmacology

2. What is Arthritis?
• Arthritis is a disease that causes damage in your joints.
• Some joints naturally wear (exhaust/ tired) down as you age. Lots of
people develop arthritis after that normal, lifelong wear and tear.
• Some types of arthritis happen after injuries that damage a joint.
• Certain health conditions also cause arthritis.
• Some people with severe arthritis eventually need surgery to replace
their affected joints.
• It is observed more in women as compared to men (3:1)

3. Types of arthritis
• There are more than 100 different types of arthritis. Some of the
most common types include:
• Osteoarthritis: Wear and tear arthritis.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: Arthritis that happens when your immune
system mistakenly damages your joints.
• Gout: Arthritis that causes sharp uric acid crystals to form in your
joints.
• Ankylosing spondylitis: Arthritis that affects joints near your lower
back. (lumber spine).
• Psoriatic arthritis: Arthritis that affects people who have psoriasis.
• Juvenile arthritis: Arthritis in kids and teens younger than 16.

4. What are arthritis symptoms and signs?
• Joint pain.
• Stiffness or reduced range of motion (how far you can move a
joint).
• Swelling (inflammation).
• Skin discoloration.
• Tenderness or sensitivity to touch around a joint.
• A feeling of heat or warmth near your joints.
• Symptoms in waves that come and go(flare-ups).

5. Rheumatoid arthritis
(RA)
• It is a chronic (long-lasting)
autoimmune disease that
mostly affects joints.
• RA occurs when the immune
system, which normally helps protect the body from infection
and disease, attacks its own tissues. The disease causes pain,
swelling, stiffness, and loss of function in joints
• In this immune system identifies the synovial membrane as
‘foreign substance’ and begins attacking it causing
inflammatory synovitis.

8. What are the risk factors?
Anyone can develop arthritis, but some factors may make you more likely
to, including:
• Tobacco use: Smoking and using other tobacco products increases your
risk.
• Family history: People whose biological family members have arthritis are
more likely to develop it.
• Activity level: You might be more likely to have arthritis if you aren’t
physically active regularly.
• Other health conditions: Having autoimmune diseases, obesity or any
condition that affects your joints increases the chances you’ll develop
arthritis.
Some people have a higher arthritis risk, including:
• People older than 50.
• People assigned female at birth (AFAB).
• Athletes, especially those who play contact sports.
• People who have physically demanding jobs or do work that puts a lot of
stress on their joints (standing, crouching, being on your hands and knees
for a long time, etc.).

9. Arthritis tests
• Your provider might use imaging tests to take pictures of your
joints, including:
• X-ray.
• Ultrasound.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
• A computed tomography (CT) scan.
• These tests can help your provider see damage inside your joints.
They can also help you to find out other injuries or issues that
might cause similar symptoms, like bone fractures (broken bones).
• Blood tests to check your uric acid levels to find out if you have
gout.
• Blood tests can also show signs of infections or autoimmune
diseases.

10. Management and Treatment
There’s no cure for arthritis, but there are treatments that can manage your
symptoms.
Which treatments you’ll need depend on what’s causing the arthritis, which type
you have and which joints it affects.
The most common arthritis treatments include:
• Over-the-counter (OTC) anti-inflammatory medicine like NSAIDs ( Non
steroidal anti inflammatory drugs) ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and
naproxen sodium (Aleve).
• Corticosteroids such as prednisone, reduce inflammation and pain and slow joint
damage. Side effects may include thinning of bones, weight gain and diabetes
• Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) if you have rheumatoid or
psoriatic arthritis. Methotrexate (Trexall, Otrexup, others), leflunomide (Arava)
Side effects vary but may include liver damage and severe lung infections.
• Physical therapy or occupational therapy can help you improve your strength,
range of motion and confidence while you’re moving.
• Surgery (usually only if nonsurgical treatments don’t relieve your symptoms).

11. Surgery involved
If medications fail to prevent or slow joint damage, you and your doctor may
consider surgery to repair damaged joints. Surgery may help restore your ability to
use your joint. It can also reduce pain and improve function.
Rheumatoid arthritis surgery may involve one or more of the
following procedures:
• Synovectomy. Surgery to remove the inflamed lining of the joint (synovium) can
help reduce pain and improve the joint's flexibility.
• Tendon repair. Inflammation and joint damage may cause tendons around your
joint to loosen or rupture. Your surgeon may be able to repair the tendons around
your joint.
• Joint fusion. Surgically fusing a joint may be recommended to stabilize or realign
a joint and for pain relief when a joint replacement isn't an option.
• Total joint replacement. During joint replacement surgery, your surgeon removes
the damaged parts of your joint and inserts a prosthesis made of metal and plastic.

13. Thank you