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Arthritis is chronic inflammatory arthritis is a disease that occurs in people affected by autoimmune disease psoriasis. The most common and classic characteristic of this disease is the swelling of fingers and toes, with a sausage-like appearance. This occurs in most cases, with the changes in the look of the nails. Most patients present with the pitting, and thickening of their nails. Other symptoms of this disease include the separation of the nail from their bed. Patients also present with symptoms that usually accompanies psoriasis. This consists of the discoloration of the skin, and the development of plaques, which are usually red, itchy and scaly. This does occur before psoriatic arthritis starts. Although the exact cause of Psoriatic arthritis isn’t known yet. Genetics have been linked to this disease. Other factors that increase the risk of developing this disease include obesity and psoriasis. According to statistics, this disease tends to occur less in children than in adults. Also, the cases of psoriatic arthritis are less common in Asians and Africans.

Some of the signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis include pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints. This disease can occur in any joint of the body, including the spine, hand joints and so on. This disease doesn’t have a cure yet. However, there are some medications that can be used to relieve the symptoms and slow down its progression. Besides the use of medications, stem cell therapy and exosomes have a lot of potential in the treatment of this disease.

What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Psoriatic Arthritis?

Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are chronic inflammatory diseases that progress and worsens over time. However, this disease has periods of remission, when patients don’t feel any symptoms. This disease presents in a way that the symptoms reduce for a period, then worsens after a while. This disease shares similar symptoms with rheumatoid arthritis. Both diseases lead to painful, swollen joints that are warm when touched. Below are some of the most common signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis;

  • Swollen fingers and toes: This disease causes the joints to a lot of pain. Also, the fingers and toes might usually do appear sausage-like. The fingers and toes might also become swollen. This would occur before the patient starts experiencing severe symptoms in the joint.
  • Pain in the lower back: Some patients affected by this disease to develop a condition known as spondylitis. This disease causes the inflammation of the joints, especially the joints between the spinal vertebrae, and that of the pelvis.
  • Foot pain: Patients affected by psoriatic arthritis do experience pain in their legs. This occurs most at points where the tendons and ligaments attach to the bones. This is most common at the sole.

What Are The Causes Of Psoriatic Arthritis?

Although the exact cause of this disease isn’t known yet. It has been noticed that it occurs in people affected by autoimmune disease. This is a condition in which the body immune cells fail to recognize somebody tissues, then proceeds to attack them. This kind of reaction leads to inflammation of the joints. The reason for this isn’t apparent yet. However, genetics and environmental factors both have a role to play in this. People with a family history of psoriatic arthritis are more likely to develop the disease, as compared to others. Also, researchers have discovered that there are some genes that predispose people to develop this disease. Trauma and infection have also been linked to the development of this disease.

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What Are The Risk Factors For Psoriatic Arthritis?

These are conditions or factors that could predispose people, or increase the chances of having this disease. Some of these risk factors are;

  • Age: Even though psoriatic arthritis can affect anyone, it’s more predominant among people between the age bracket of thirty to fifty years old.
  • Heredity: People who have relatives or siblings that have this disease have a higher risk of being affected by psoriatic arthritis.
  • Psoriasis: This disease is the most important factor for having psoriatic arthritis. This is more predominant in people who present with psoriatic lesions on their nails

What Are the Complications Of Psoriatic Arthritis?

A small number of people affected by psoriatic arthritis do develop arthritis mutilans, which is a serious form of the disease. This causes a lot of pain and incapacitates the patient. It destroys the little bones of the hands, particularly in the fingers. This might lead to a permanent deformity. Also, people affected by this disease might develop visual problems. For example, there have been reported cases where psoriatic arthritis patients presented with conjunctivitis, uveitis, and blurred vision. This disease has also been linked to cardiovascular diseases.

How Is This Disease Diagnosed?

Physicians usually use different types of tests and evaluations to diagnose this disease. This disease shares a lot of similarity in symptoms with rheumatoid arthritis, which is why a thorough evaluation is needed. Below are some of the test done;

  1. Family history
  2. Test for the presence of rheumatoid factor
  3. Pitting of the nails
  4. Radiologic images are displaying the degenerative joint changes.

How Is Psoriatic Arthritis Currently Treated?

Since the pathogenesis of this disease is mostly due to inflammation, treatment methods are usually focused on reducing and controlling inflammation. Below are some of the medications used in the treatment of this disease;

  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: Examples of drugs are aspirin, ibuprofen and so on. The function of the medication is to reduce or eliminate the abnormal inflammatory process. It also relieves pain and makes the life of the patients more comfortable.
  • Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs: These medications function by reducing the progression of the disease. In addition to this, they also protect the joints from damage, due to inflammation.

Stem Cell Therapy Of Psoriatic Arthritis

Stem cells are unique cells that are capable of regenerating and proliferating. These cells also can repair and replace damaged tissues. This is what makes stem cell therapy suitable for treating joint diseases, especially psoriatic arthritis. Mesenchymal stem cells can hone on damaged tissues. They also can be introduced directly into the affected parts of the body.

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References

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FUKUDA, H. and MUKAI, H. (2010). Cutaneous endometriosis in the umbilical region: The usefulness of CD10 in identifying the interstitium of ectopic endometriosis. The Journal of Dermatology, 37(6), pp.545-549.

Hendarto, H. (2016). Thinking Out Loud On Endometriosis And Stem Cell Relationship. Journal of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, 2(1), pp.27-28.

Jacobson, T. (2011). Potential cures for endometriosis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1221(1), pp.70-74.