Rheumatoid arthritis affects about one percent of the population. It's most common in women in their middle years. However, it can affect anyone at any age including children, as well as men. So we're all at risk for rheumatoid arthritis. The pain and the swelling is usually in a classic pattern which involves the small joints of the hands and feet, but can involve almost every joint in the body with pain and swelling.
Morning stiffness is also common.
People wake up and feel like they've been hit by a truck, and it will take them an hour to get going, or they require a hot shower to get going. We used to give gold injections which are uncommonly used now. Other new therapies have been directed by our better understanding of the biology of rheumatoid arthritis. We have made antiproteins to decrease some of the proteins that cause rheumatoid arthritis. These two new biologic therapies have also been shown to decrease pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis and slow down cartilage and bone destruction.