What Do You Know About Rheumatic Diseases?

Posted by Candy Swift on December 1st, 2021

An estimated 46 million adults suffer from rheumatic diseases in the United States. These are complex autoimmune and inflammatory diseases that cause the immune system to attack and damage the joints, tendons, ligaments, bones, muscles and sometimes involve damage to internal organs. Rheumatic diseases are responsible for 27 percent of all disability among the U.S. population.

· Symptoms and Types of Rheumatic Diseases

Rheumatic diseases have now become a high prevalence of diseases of internal system, rheumatic attacks will cause great pain, and even affect the normal work and life of patients. People suffering from rheumatic diseases may have the following symptoms:

Pain: rheumatic pain mainly lies in the joint parts, and the pain usually worsens at night.

Stiffness: manifested as stiffness in the joints in the morning or after a long period of rest, which can be relieved after activity.

Joint swelling: usually appears at the location of the diseased joint, and the degree of swelling varies depending on the severity of the surrounding soft tissue inflammation.

Joint dysfunction: commonly seen in late stage of rheumatic diseases. The diseased joint will be deformed and its range of motion will be restricted, for example, the knee cannot be fully straightened, and the fingers are twisted and deformed.

Fever: fever is usually preceded by the appearance of rheumatism, and intermittent fever may occur.

There are more than 100 types of rheumatic disease, each with its own range of symptoms. Rheumatism is divided into systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), dermatomyositis, etc. according to their clinical manifestations.

· Causes and Prevention of Rheumatic Diseases

Rheumatic diseases are usually caused by the following three reasons.

First, joint strain. For example, chronic lumbar strain and tenosynovitis are often caused by a long history of overwork. Long-term accumulated injuries can also lead to congestion, edema, and adhesions in the relevant tissues, which can lead to the disease.

The second is the work/life environment. Research findings show that many people who work in cold environments for long periods of time are likely to suffer from rheumatic diseases, the cause of which is closely related to environmental factors such as cold, darkness, and humidity.

The third, immune dysfunction. In daily life, the presence of immune function enables the organism to mobilize its defense to destroy pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria when they attack. If the body\'s immune function is not adequate, it may cause rheumatism.

The prevention of rheumatic diseases can be regulated according to the above causes. For example, increase physical exercise every day to activate joints and build up immunity; keep the work or living environment ventilated and dry, get moderate sun exposure, etc.

· The Latest Research in Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases

Most of the current drugs used in the treatment of rheumatic diseases are aimed at controlling the progression of inflammation and reducing inflammatory damage, which in turn improves the quality of life for all types of patients.

NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) were first used clinically to treat rheumatic diseases, and later NSAIDs were used in combination with appropriate glucocorticoid therapy.

The advent of biologic therapies, particularly antibody therapeutics, has revolutionized the pharmacological treatment of many rheumatic diseases. Antibody discovery began with the immunization of mice for the production of rodent immunoglobulins, but advances in protein and genetic engineering have now made it possible to generate fully human antibodies, which are better tolerated by patients.

Antibodies have three main mechanisms of action: neutralization, ADCC (antibody-mediated cytotoxicity), and CDC (complement-mediated cytotoxicity). For example, Tocilizumab is a humanized neutralizing antibody against interleukin-6 receptor that is currently approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other immune-related conditions. It is worth mentioning that tocilizumab has also been investigated as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Despite the lack of direct antiviral effects, tocilizumab could reduce the immune-induced organ damage caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.