Rheumatology
All inflammatory forms of rheumatic diseases have a common cause: the joints are usually chronically inflamed due to a dysregulated immune reaction. Young adults, children and adolescents can also be affected by Rheumatism, although there are Rheumatism therapy options.
An overview of rheumatic diseases
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)1
In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the proximal joints of the hands and feet often become inflamed, mostly on both sides. Typically, rheumatoid arthritis progresses in flare-ups. As it progresses, it often affects other joints. An early diagnosis and guideline-based rheumatoid arthritis therapy can often save those affected from the threat of joint destruction.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis can be diagnosed if one or more joints in a child or adolescent have been swollen for at least 6 weeks or if they have impaired function with pain and other causes, such as reactive arthritis, have been ruled out.2 JIA does not represent a uniform clinical picture which affects juvenile idiopathic arthritis therapy. 7 subtypes can be classified on the basis of clinical presentation, familial disposition and some laboratory parameters (rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies, HLA-B27).3-4
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA)5
Psoriatic arthritis is a rheumatic joint disease that is usually preceded by the typical skin lesions of psoriasis. Cases in which skin involvement is not known are more difficult to identify. A targeted search for skin and/or nail changes is useful if psoriatic arthritis is suspected. Usually, the joints on the hands and feet and the spine are affected. The disease can be continuous or intermittent.
Axial spondylarthritis (axSpA)6
Axial spondylarthritis is included within the rheumatic joint diseases which mainly affect the axial skeleton (sacroiliac joints, spine) and the tendon attachments (entheses). They share clinical and genetic characteristics in common. Overlaps and transitions between the individual shapes are possible. The main representative of axial spondylarthritis is ankylosing spondylarthritis (AS; synonyms ankylosing spondylitis, ankylosing spondylitis), which differs from non-radiographic axial spondylarthritis (nr-asSpA) by the evidence of structural changes in the X-ray image.
Uveitis7
Uveitis is a group of inflammatory diseases of the middle skin of the eye (uvea), which consists of the iris and the ciliary body (corpus ciliare) in the anterior segment of the eye and the choroid (choroid) in the posterior segment of the eye.
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Sources
1. Puchner, Rheumatology in Practice, SpringerWienNewYork, 2nd edition, 2012.
2. https://gkjr.de/fuer-aerzte/krankheitsbilder/jia/was-ist-jia/ , last accessed: January 15, 2020.
3. Petty RE, Southwood TR, Manners P et. al. International League of Associations for Rheumatology classification of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: second revision, Edmonton, 2001. J Rheumatol. 2004; 31: 390-392.
4. Minden K, Niewerth M. Clinical forms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis and their classification. Z Rheumatol 2008; 67: 100-110.
5. Sieper J et al. Axial spondyloarthtritis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2015 Jul 9; 1: 15013.
6. Boehncke et al. Psoriatic Arthritis - An Interdisciplinary Challenge. Dtsch Ärztebl 2006; 103: 1455-1461.
7. Pan J, et al. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2014; 14 (1): 1-8.