Psoriatic arthritis is a form of psoriasis that affects the joints.
Like psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, in which your body's immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues.
In psoriatic arthritis, the immune system targets the joints, leading to inflammation and pain.
While the exact cause of psoriatic arthritis is not known, some risk factors may include:
Psoriasis: Those with psoriasis, particularly in cases where it affects the nails, are more likely to have psoriatic arthritis.
Approximately 15 percent of those with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis.
Heredity: Forty percent of those with psoriatic arthritis have a parent or sibling with psoriatic arthritis.
Infection: Psoriatic arthritis may be triggered by a viral or bacterial infection that sets off your immune system.
Age: Being between 30- to 50-years old places you in a higher-risk age group.
In some cases, however, psoriatic arthritis will begin in childhood.
Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic disease that has periods of remission and flare-ups that will get worse over time.
The main symptoms of psoriatic arthritis are:
At your appointment, your doctor will examine you for swollen and painful joints, nails that are flaking or pitting, and check the soles of your feet for any swelling or tenderness.
Your doctor may order an X-ray, MRI, or CT scan to check for joint damage.
Also, your doctor may order some additional tests to evaluate you for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, or other conditions.
No cure for psoriatic arthritis exists, but there are ways to manage the inflammation and pain.
The most common drug treatment options are:
The most common side effects of psoriatic arthritis are anemia, fatigue, and depression.
You may also experience high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or weight-control problems.
A more severe complication is arthritis mutilans, a condition that attacks the small bones in your fingers and hands and causes permanent disability.
Fortunately, only a small percentage of those with psoriatic arthritis will develop arthritis mutilans.
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Psoriatic arthritis is a condition that affects the joints, causing inflammation and pain.
It's a form of the skin condition psoriasis; both are the result of an overactive immune system.
Psoriatic arthritis occurs in about 15 percent of those with psoriasis.
The most common symptoms of psoriatic arthritis are:
Painful, swollen joints: They may also be warm to the touch.
These symptoms may occur only on one side of the body or on both, and it may affect only one joint or several.
For example, it may affect one or both elbows, or an elbow and a knee.
Swollen fingers and toes: Your fingers may swell to the point where they look like sausages, a condition called dactylitis.
Nails may be affected as well.
This symptom may occur before you develop any joint pain.
Foot pain: In this condition, sometimes called enthesitis, you experience pain at the points where your tendons and ligaments attach to your bones.
It's especially common at the back of your heel or the sole of your foot.
The pain may also affect your elbows.
Back pain: Pain in the neck, lower back, or with bending may be a result of spondylitis (inflammation of the vertebra).
It causes inflammation of the joints between the vertebrae of your spine.
Symptoms frequently come and go. Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic disease that has flare ups and periods of remission.
In most cases, the disease will gradually get worse over time.
There is no test to diagnose psoriatic arthritis, so your doctor will examine you and may order tests to rule out other conditions.
During your exam, your doctor may examine you for swollen and painful joints, check your nails for any deformities, and press on your feet to check for any tenderness or pain.
Your doctor may also recommend one or more of the following procedures:
Blood tests for rheumatoid arthritis: Rheumatoid arthritis has similar symptoms to psoriatic arthritis.
Your doctor may order blood tests for rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimenation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP).
If these tests are mostly positive, then the joint symptoms probably represent rheumatoid arthritis, not psoriatic arthritis.
Joint fluid test: Uric acid crystals in your joint fluid are more common in gout than psoriatic arthritis, so if they are present, it is more likely you have gout.
X-rays: An X-ray can help identify any joint changes that may be consistent with psoriatic arthritis.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): An MRI can help identify issues with the tendons and ligaments in your feet and lower back.
Skin biopsy: Your doctor may take a small sample of skin to check for psoriasis.
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Psoriatic arthritis is a progressive, autoimmune disease.
There will be times when the symptoms especially swollen, painful joints that are hot to the touch will be worse before getting better or disappearing almost entirely, only to have them reappear a few months later.
There is no cure for psoriatic arthritis, but there are ways to manage the pain and lessen the symptoms.
Research suggests that early treatment can help lessen the progression of the condition, so it's important to see your doctor as early as possible.
NSAIDs: Over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Advil, Motrin, and Aleve can ease pain and inflammation associated with psoriatic arthritis.
Side effects of regular NSAID use may include an irritated stomach, heart problems, and kidney or liver damage.
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs): These drugs work to prevent the progression of psoriatic arthritis and can prevent permanent damage of your joints and other tissues.
They include such drugs as methotrexate (Trexall), leflunomide (Arava), and sulfasalazine (Azulfidine).
Side effects may include liver damage, bone marrow suppression, and severe lung infections.
Immunosuppressants: These medications suppress your immune system, which is overactive in psoriatic arthritis.
Your doctor may prescribe azathioprine (Imuran, Azasan) or cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune).
These medications can make it more likely you will get another type of infection, so it's important to be vigilant about your health while taking this type of drug.
TNF-alpha inhibitors: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is an inflammatory substance that your body makes.
TNF-alpha inhibitors can help ease pain, stiffness in the morning, and tender or swollen joints.
Examples include etanercept (Enbrel), infliximab (Remicade), adalimumab (Humira), golimumab (Simponi) and certolizumab (Cimzia).
Side effects may include nausea, diarrhea, hair loss, and an increased risk of serious infections.
Steroid injections: An injection directly into the affected joint can help reduce inflammation and pain quickly.
If joint damage from psoriatic arthritis is severely affecting your quality of life, you may need to replace a damaged joint with an artificial one.
Less than 10 percent of people with psoriatic arthritis will probably need surgery to treat joint damage, according to a 2012 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Researchers found that hand surgery for psoriatic arthritis is the most common type performed.
In addition to medications, there are lifestyle changes that may ease your symptoms:
Maintain a healthy weight: Being overweight or obese puts added pressure and stress on your joints.
Exercise regularly: Exercising helps to keep your joints strong and flexible.
Walking, bike riding and swimming are all beneficial to your joints without adding additional pressure.
Yoga can help keep your joints limber.
Protect your joints: Take strides to ensure you aren't overtaxing your joints.
For example, don't lift a grocery bag with a few fingers instead, use your whole hand. Don't open a door by pushing with your hand, use your entire body weight.
Don't overextend yourself: It can be frustrating, but fatigue goes hand in hand with psoriatic arthritis.
Don't stop being active entirely, but pace yourself by breaking activities down into 10 to 15 minute blocks of time.
Use hot or cold packs: When your joints start to ache, treatment with an ice pack or a hot pad can help to reduce the pain naturally.
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Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com
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