Welcome to my channel Power of knowledge academy. In this Video you will learn about a medical musculoskeletal auto-immune disease called Rheumatoid Arthritis in a lecture method style.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that can cause pain, swelling and stiffness in joints.
It is what is known as an auto-immune condition. This means that the immune system, which is the body’s natural self-defence system, gets confused and starts to attack your body’s healthy tissues. In rheumatoid arthritis, the main way it does this is with inflammation in your joints.
To understand how rheumatoid arthritis develops, it helps to understand how a normal joint works.
How does a normal joint work?
A joint is where two bones meet. Most of our joints are designed to allow the bones to move in certain directions and within certain limits.
he end of each bone is covered with cartilage that has a very smooth, slippery surface. The cartilage allows the ends of the bones to move against each other, almost without rubbing.
The joint is held in place by the synovium, which contains thick fluid to protect the bones and joint.
The synovium has a tough outer layer that holds the joint in place and stops the bones moving too far.
Strong cords called tendons anchor the muscles to the bones.
What happens in a joint affected by rheumatoid arthritis?
If you have rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system can cause inflammation inside a joint or a number of joints. Inflammation is normally an important part of how your immune system works. It allows the body to send extra fluid and blood to a part of the body under attack from an infection. For example, if you have a cut that gets infected, the skin around it can become swollen and a different colour.
However, in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, this inflammation in the joint is unnecessary and causes problems.
When the inflammation goes down, the capsule around the synovium remains stretched and can’t hold the joint in its proper position. This can cause the joint to become unstable and move into unusual positions.
In Arthritic joint you will find more WBC's like Dendritic cells, which present antigens, Macrophages which secrete cytokines to promote inflammation, T cells and B cells which promote auto-antibody synthesis and pannus formation.
Symptoms of Arthritis:
The main symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are:
joint pain
joint swelling, warmth and redness
stiffness, especially first thing in the morning or after sitting still for a long time.
Causes of Arthritis:
Genetic factors like HLA (human Leukocyte Antigen) Genes and Environmental factors like smoking and joint infection can play a role in the development of Rheumatoid arthritis.
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