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Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is also known as Juvenile idiopathic arthritis. It is one of the most common type of arthritis that affects children under age of 16.

Joint stiffness, Swelling and joint pain are the most commonly seen symptoms in Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. The symptoms are only seen in some amount of peoples only. Most of the affected children do not see any symptoms.

There are seven different types of Juvenile arthritis depending on disease course, pathophysiology, genetic predispositions and prognosis.

Common symptoms of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Juvenile arthritis can affect more than one joint in the body. Like all other forms of arthritis, Juvenile arthritis is also diagnosed by the appearance of symptoms.

Following is the list of common symptoms in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis:

  • Joint Pain
  • Swelling in the Joints
  • Redness in the Joints
  • Morning Stiffness
  • Frequent Fever

Types of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

1.Juvenile myositis – It is an inflammatory condition which causes severe muscle weakness. There are two subtypes of juvenile myositis.

  • Juvenile polymyositis
  • Juvenile dermatomyositis

2.Juvenile idiopathic arthritis – It is the most common type of Juvenile arthritis, which is further subdivided into six types depending on the number of bones involved. oligoarthritis, polyarthritis, systemic, enthesitis-related, juvenile psoriatic arthritis and undifferentiated. 

3.Juvenile Lupus – This type of JRI is considered to be an autoimmune disease in which our own immune system mistakenly affects the joints. It can affect the joints, skin, internal organs (i.e. heart, kidneys, lungs) and other areas of the body.

4.Juvenile scleroderma – Scleroderma means “hard skin,” describes a group of conditions that causes the skin to tighten and harden. In this type of arthritis our skin becomes harder and tighter.

5.Vasculitis – This condition is associated with blood vessels, It causes inflammation in the blood vessels which can cause further heart disease in the patients.

6.Fibromyalgia – It is a chronic pain disorder, in which stiffness and the pain are spread throughout the body. Fibromyalgia more common in girls but rarely diagnosed before puberty. 

Treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Symptomatic management is the approach used in the treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Painkiller and Disease modifying agents are common medications used in the treatment of JRA.

NSAID – It is the most commonly used type of analgesics to control the pain and inflammation in the body. Medications like Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Etoricoxib, Naproxen are most commonly used pain killers.

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs – Usually this type of medications are used in the combination with NSAIDs. They usually try to recover the lost content of the body and also helps the body to recover from damage of joints.

E.g Methotrexate, Collagen type 2, Hyaluronic Acid, Eggshell membrane, Chondroitin..

Corticosteroids – This type of steroids are more effectively used in the treatment of severe pain and inflammation when other treatment options failed to provide any relief from pain.

Biological Agents – They work by altering the way of the immune system work. Usually they are used in the all types of autoimmune diseases.

E.g Etanercept, Adalimumab, Golimumab, Infliximab 

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