Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is known to cause the inflammation of joints, and its damage gradually reduces body movement. The symptoms can be observed as stiff joints in the morning hours; as one ages, RA can affect other organs of the body such as the spleen, blood vessels, and lungs. There is no one particular cause for rheumatoid arthritis. It may be caused by an infection in the immune system. It may be a genetic disease running in the family. Or, the cause of rheumatoid arthritis can be non-genetic, affecting the person at some point of life. Studies are ongoing to identify if any bacteria or viruses may cause rheumatoid arthritis. Just as identifying the cause of the disease is difficult, diagnosing RA is also not an easy task. There are many methods and techniques of diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis. Of course initially, the person goes through a complete physical examination offered by the doctor. The diagnosis of the doctor is verified and concluded through the laboratory tests before administering treatment. A latex test is one of the most recommended diagnoses. The test is used to detect the presence of rheumatoid factor in blood. In most cases of rheumatoid arthritis, the anti-bodies or white blood cells attack the body's own tissues instead of foreign bodies because of the increased rheumatoid factors. But not all rheumatoid arthritis patients test positive in latex test. Another diagnosis, called Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate, involves collecting and checking the blood for the rate of sedimentation. If the rate of sedimentation of red blood cells is high, the patient is said to have an active inflammation in the body, a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis. Similarly, tests are also conducted to test for an increase in C-reactive protein in blood, which may result in an increased inflammation in body. These tests are often conducted again after a certain time period to diagnose for the rate of inflammation as high or low. Bone densitometry is yet another suggested diagnosis, using imaging to measure bone density and osteoporosis, a common characteristic of extreme rheumatoid arthritis. Magnetic resonance imaging and ultra sound"although rarely"are used to diagnose inflammation in joints when rheumatoid arthritis is at an early stage. But an X-ray may only help in identifying the deformity of the bones in the joint at a later stage. Based on the diagnosis, the consulting doctor suggests treatments. |
