What Causes Rheumatoid Arthritis?
As difficult as living with rheumatoid arthritis may be, it may be harder to understand what has caused this serious illness and whether anything could have been done to prevent it. Most of us want a reason for an illness and knowing a cause can be helpful to acceptance of a condition as well. Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to the question of what causes rheumatoid arthritis, also referred to as “RA.”RA is an inflammatory disease affecting the joints and other body tissues and organs. It is a systemic disease and it is very common to have involvement of other parts of the body as well as the familiar joint problems. Joints are usually affected on both sides of the body at once and symptoms include redness, heat, swelling, stiffness (especially in the morning) and pain. Later, damage from the inflammatory process can cause deformity and loss of function. Other systems are also at risk including the eyes, digestive system, blood vessels, skin, lungs and heart.
RA does its damage when the inflammatory process is not controlled. No cause is known for most of the autoimmune illnesses where the body attacks its own tissues and RA is no exception if a definitive cause is needed. There are some interesting areas that seem to offer some clues to the disease, however.
We do know that RA is known to occur in several members of the same family. This means that a genetic link is very likely related to at least some cases of RA and that a family history makes you at a higher risk than someone who has no family history. Some genetic markers have been identified that are associated with rheumatoid arthritis and a specific one is also associated with the psoriatic form of RA when psoriasis is also present. The psoriasis may occur before or after joint symptoms occur.
Hormones may play some role since RA is much more common in women than in men. For every man with RA there are three women with the disease, yet men tend to have a more severe form of the disease. No one is sure exactly why gender makes a difference in RA risk, but women are considered more vulnerable than men.
Something to do with the aging process is also possible since the disease most commonly occurs after the age of thirty. However, it can occur even in children so this is also not definitive.
A provocative reason for some cases of RA is that of food allergies or sensitivities. Patients who have RA have long claimed that certain foods made their symptoms worse but few studies showed a clear link. Recent work done in Oslo, Norway has found antibodies to certain foods that form in intestinal fluids. If this is the location for the inflammatory process, it explains why blood testing has not shown a link previously.
Some trials have shown improvement in inflammation merely by putting patients on a diet similar to that in ancient times consisting of meat, fish, fruits and vegetables only. Foods like dairy and grains are avoided. It is not yet known whether such a diet could also help to prevent developing RA in genetically susceptible individuals.
While we do not as of yet have an exact answer for the cause or causes of rheumatoid arthritis, considerable research is in progress to identify causes and cures. Current treatments are generally effective, but this is still an incurable and chronic condition.
Resources
Possible causes and risk factors for RA:
www.hopkins-arthritis.org/rheumatoid/rheum_treat.html
Information about RA and what may cause it:
www.healthscout.com/ency/68/120/main.html
Possible causes of RA: www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/
Role of the immune system in RA development:
www.podiatrychannel.com/rheumatoidarthritis/causes.shtml