Psoriatic arthritis - a disease that causes inflammation, pain and swelling of multiple (more than five) joint psoriasis. Psoriatic arthritis can affect other parts of the body - such as ligaments and tendons. Conventional treatments for this disease - medications that suppress pain, and medications to slow the development of psoriatic arthritis. In some cases, if the disease has resulted in serious damage to the joint or tendon, surgical intervention is required.
By itself, arthritis
Arthritis - a variety of forms and complications
- An inflammation of the joints, and psoriasis - a very common skin disease, usually caused by the appearance of certain areas of red, flaky skin. Psoriatic arthritis - a certain type of arthritis that develops against the backdrop of psoriasis. According to statistics, this type of arthritis develops in one out of every ten cases of psoriasis (again, according to statistics, two out of every hundred people at a certain age develop psoriasis). In most cases, arthritis may occur after the onset of symptoms of psoriasis
The symptoms of psoriasis - a great variety
- Usually within the first ten years after diagnosis. In rare cases arthritis on a background of psoriasis may develop much later.
The appearance of psoriatic arthritis, by and large, does not depend on gender or age - equally often suffer from this disease, and men and women. Psoriasis most often occurs separately for the first time at the age of fifteen to twenty-five years, and psoriatic arthritis
What is arthritis - when it hurts everywhere
develops between the ages of twenty five to fifty years.
Causes of psoriatic arthritis
The exact cause of psoriatic arthritis is unknown. The inflammatory process begins in the synovium of joints affected (tissue that surrounds each joint), and sometimes other parts of the body - for example, in the tendons or ligaments. What exactly triggers an inflammatory process, it is not clear, but presumably some kind of disruption of the immune system of the body leads to the beginning of inflammation. Psoriatic arthritis is not considered a hereditary disease, however, statistics show that more often than others with the disease experienced by those people whose relatives suffered from psoriatic arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis - be attentive to his hands
.
Development of the disease
Psoriatic arthritis can affect any joints, but is generally accepted to allocate five different scenarios for the development of the disease. Among them:
- Asymmetrical oligoarticular arthritis: this kind of disease is considered the most common and the least serious. "Oligo" means "few" - such a scenario psoriatic arthritis involves loss of less than five joints. A common situation - the loss of large joints (eg knee joint) and several small joints in the toes.
- Symmetric psoriatic arthritis: Another common form of psoriatic arthritis, suggesting a symmetrical development of the disease. Practically, this means that in case of damage or replacement of the right (for example, the right elbow) simultaneously suffers the same joint and the left side. At the same time affected and several small joints in the wrists and fingers.
- Spondylitis and sacroiliitis: spondylitis, joint inflammation and structural elements of the spine, seen in one out of twenty cases of psoriatic arthritis. Sometimes spondylitis sacroiliitis develops on the background - kresttsovopodvzdoshnogo joint inflammation. The key symptom of the disease - back pain.
- Psoriatic arthritis interphalangeal joints: a rare variant of the disease that affects the small interphalangeal joints of the fingers and toes.
- Psoriatic arthritis Mutiliruyuschy: a very rare form of the disease in which arthritis causes deformation of the fingers and toes.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms of psoriatic arthritis - pain and inflexibility of the affected joints, which are usually compounded in the morning or after rest. The inflammation causes swelling and redness of the skin around the affected joints. Over time, in some cases, the inflammatory process may result in damage to the joints, depending upon the extent of which may be significant deformation or even complete failure of the joints.
- Inflammation of the tendons
Another common symptom of psoriatic arthritis, caused by the fact that the tissue covering tendons is very similar in structure to the synovium of joints. Very often in psoriatic arthritis there is an inflammation of the tendons of fingers. If the inflammation affects both the joints and tendons, the finger can be increased in size, swell.
Other symptoms
- Chorditis
- Detachment of the nail plate from the nail bed
- Anemia, fatigue
- Inflammation of the other parts of the body - such as conjunctivitis Related
Diagnosis and treatment
In the early stages of the disease to diagnose psoriatic arthritis is quite difficult, because when the first symptoms of arthritis clarification of the exact reasons for their turns to a difficult task. However, if the appearance of arthritis is observed on a background of psoriasis is most commonly diagnosed psoriatic arthritis. Basic techniques for the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis exact - some blood tests, X-rays. Such methods help to exclude the possibility of other types of arthritis (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis in blood observed specific antibodies, which have psoriatic arthritis).
The main objectives of the treatment of psoriatic arthritis - the suppression of pain in the affected joints and tendons, to prevent further damage and deformation. To suppress the pain of psoriatic arthritis in the attacks are usually recommended NSAIDs, paracetamol, codeine or steroid injections directly into the affected joint.
It is important to remember that any such products effectively suppress the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, but does not stop the progression of the disease and prevent further damage to the joints. For this purpose, other drugs are usually recommended - special antirheumatic drugs that suppress inflammation and reduce joint damage caused by arthritis. The most common such drugs - methotrexate and sulfasalazine. Antirheumatic drugs do not have an immediate effect on pain and inflammation, sometimes to achieve the required results of the first four to six months. That is why it is very important to take antirheumatic drugs exactly as directed by your doctor - or the drug may simply not have time to act.
