Seropositive RA is usually more aggressive and can lead to long-term effects like joint damage. However, both types of RA require treatment. Your healthcare provider will design a plan that may include medication and lifestyle changes to help manage your symptoms.
While rheumatoid arthritis most commonly causes joint pain, inflammation, and swelling, systemic symptoms such as fatigue can affect the whole body. Inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis can also target other systems of the body, resulting in a variety of different symptoms. These are known as extra-articiular manifestations.
Sometimes, your body may no longer react to certain medications as it once did. This can especially happen with biologics, an RA drug class. Your immune system may see the drug as an invader and develop antibodies to work against it, making it less effective or ineffective. In other cases, a worsening condition could also be the reason for a medication no longer working well.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease leading to swollen, painful knees. RA is also a chronic condition, progressing through stages of worsening joint damage, increasing pain, and eventually, difficulty walking.
Swollen finger joints are frequently the result of inflammation caused by an infection, injury, or disease. The swelling may be due to a chronic (persistent or recurrent) condition, like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or gout. Or, it may be due to acute (sudden and short-lasting), non-arthritis causes, like a fracture, infected cut, or a "jammed finger."
