Psoriatic Arthritis: A Chronic Disease

First of all, what is psoriatic arthritis? Actually, psoriatic arthritis is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of the skin (psoriasis) and joints (arthritis). Psoriatic arthritis affects one in ten people about who have psoriasis.The inflamed joints become painful, swollen, hot, and red. The cause of this condition is currently unknown. A combination of genetic and immune as well as environmental factors are likely involved. Briefly, there are five types of psoriatic arthritis which are symmetric (affects joints on both sides of the body simultaneously and most similar to Rheumatoid arthritis), asymmetric (does not occur in the same joints on both sides of the body and usually only involves less than 3 joints), arthritis mutilans (deforming and destructive arthritis and can progress over months or years causing severe joint damage), spondylitis (stiffness of the spine or neck, and also affect the hands and feet) and distal interphalangeal predominant (inflammation and stiffness in the joints nearest to the ends of the fingers and toes). Psoriatic arthritis can develop at any age. For the majority of people this is between the ages of 20 and 50. Both males and females are affected equally. In addition, some patients have had arthritis for over 20 years before psoriasis eventually appears!

Treatments

First line medication used are NSAIDs such as diclofenac and naproxen. While, joint injections with corticosteroids is the other treatment practical if a few joints are affected. However, if the first line medication is not effective, second line treatments with immunosuppressants such as methotrexate or leflunomide are added to the treatment regimen. Recently, a new class of therapeutics developed using recombinant DNA technology called Tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors have come available. For example, infliximab, etanercept, Golimumab and adalimumab. These are becoming increasingly commonly used but are usually reserved for the most severe cases. As more is learned regarding the long-term safety of these biologic agents, there is a trend toward earlier use to prevent irreversible joint destruction.

Change your life style:

• Exercise : Exercise maintains mobility of your joints and strengthens muscles to protect the joints. However, if an exercise becomes painful, reduce it a little.
• Rest : Avoid carrying heavy objects which drag down your shoulders or strain your fingers. You should have sufficient rest.
• Diet : balanced diet is important in promoting overall good health. If you are overweight, you need to diet because of the strain this puts on the leg joints.

http://www.medicinenet.com/psoriatic_arthritis/article.htm

http://www.afm.org.my/info/psoriatic_arthritis.php

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/331037-overview

by: -Elina-