Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States.
50 million people in the United States currently suffer from a form of arthritis, 1.3 million of those have Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Three times as many women as men have RA and it usually occurs between the ages of 30-60.
As many as 300,000 children are diagnosed with a distinct but related form of inflammatory arthritis called juvenile arthritis. Many children diagnosed with JA or JIA grow in to Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is a form of inflammatory arthritis and an autoimmune disease. For reasons no one fully understands, in rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system – which is designed to protect our health by attacking foreign cells such as viruses and bacteria – instead attacks the body’s own tissues, specifically the synovium, a thin membrane that lines the joints. As a result of the attack, fluid builds up in the joints, causing pain in the joints and inflammation that’s systemic – meaning it can occur throughout the body.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease, meaning it can’t be cured. Most people with RA experience intermittent bouts of intense disease activity, called flares. In some people the disease is continuously active and gets worse over time. Others enjoy long periods of remission – no disease activity or symptoms at all. Evidence shows that early diagnosis and aggressive treatment to put the disease into remission is the best means of avoiding joint destruction, organ damage and disability.
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