• People with RA are more likely to have narrowed or blocked arteries in the brain – the result of systemic inflammation. This can cause problems with memory, thinking and reasoning.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with various nonarticular manifestations, including a range of neurologic abnormalities, such as cervical spine instability, compressive neuropathy (eg, of the median nerve at the wrist, which results in carpal tunnel syndrome [CTS]), and an often subclinical sensory or ...
MRI can clearly identify some of the signs of osteoarthritis, including whether cartilage is wearing away. MRI can also detect signs of rheumatoid arthritis, but a doctor will also use a variety of other tests, such as blood tests. Doctors can distinguish between soft tissues and fluids using MRI.
Conclusion In a large nationwide population-based cohort, RA was associated with an increased risk of incident dementia. Appropriate evaluation of dementia is required when cognitive impairment occurs in RA patients. Further studies are warranted to identify mechanisms of increased risk of dementia in RA patients.
Many people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) report having trouble thinking clearly, problems with memory, and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms, known as brain fog, can occur in people with chronic inflammatory conditions, including RA, Sjogren's syndrome, and multiple sclerosis.
People with all types of arthritis are at high risk of depression and anxiety. If you have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and are feeling depressed or are worried about developing depression, it's important to talk to your doctor.
One way to combat brain fog is by taking medicine for RA. Biologic drugs, called TNF inhibitors, block inflammation. These drugs include etanercept (Enbrel) and adalimumab (Humira). These drugs may also improve or prevent brain fog.
RA is a chronic condition with no known cure. People do not die from RA. However, it can lead to serious complications that can compromise overall health. A person with RA may have a reduced life expectancy.
A study published in July 2018 in Arthritis Care & Research found that people who have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder in their lifetimes than those who have not been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease.
It's possible to live a long life with RA, but it is estimated that the disease can potentially reduce life expectancy by 3 to 10 years.
Neurologists can help set a reasonable expectation about what their rheumatic brethren can achieve. “My drugs can often halt the progress of a rheumatic disease, but [the treatments] can't walk back damage that has already taken place [in the body], and they often take months to start working,” Dr. Seo says.
Blood tests
People with rheumatoid arthritis often have an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, also known as sed rate) or C-reactive protein (CRP) level, which may indicate the presence of an inflammatory process in the body.
You may have difficulty getting out of bed or walking in the morning because of stiff and painful ankles, knees, or feet. This stiffness is usually worse in the mornings and can last for 45 minutes or more. RA can also trigger swelling in the affected joints.
RA mainly attacks the joints, usually many joints at once. RA commonly affects joints in the hands, wrists, and knees. In a joint with RA, the lining of the joint becomes inflamed, causing damage to joint tissue.
In end-stage RA, people may still experience pain, swelling, stiffness, and mobility loss. There may be lower muscle strength. The joints may experience destruction, and the bones may fuse (ankylosis).
The difficult nature of rheumatoid arthritis can mean some people develop depression or feelings of stress and anxiety. Sometimes these feelings can be related to poorly controlled pain or fatigue. Living with a long-term condition makes you more likely to have emotions such as frustration, fear, anger and resentment.
The causes of mood swings for people with rheumatoid arthritis are similar to the causes of depression. The chronic inflammation, pain, fatigue, and other symptoms can make it harder for you to withstand stress, so you may react more intensely to certain stressors or situations.
Overexertion, poor sleep, stress or an infection like the flu can all set off RA symptoms. With a predictable flare you'll temporarily feel worse, but your symptoms will resolve in time. Unpredictable flares have more uncertainty associated with them.
RA is a very serious autoimmune disease, in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body's tissues and causes severe joint pain, stiffness, severe fatigue, and sometimes deformity, usually in the hands, shoulders, knees, and/or feet.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the joints. However, rheumatoid arthritis occasionally affects other parts of the body — including the eyes. The most common eye-related symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is dryness.
Research proves that dogs are sensitive to physiological cues that are not obvious to us humans. Such cues include skin temperature and unusual scents. A painful joint with arthritis has increased heat and may emit inflammatory odors; odors that are undetectable to us humans, but scents our dogs can detect.
The fatigue of RA is a weariness that rest cannot cure. Over 90% of RA patients report fatigue as a clinical symptom. It is counted second only to pain as the greatest difficulty of living with RA.
Most of the time, your recommended medication will help brain fog by easing the rest of your arthritis symptoms. But every now and then, steroid-based drugs like prednisone might cause side effects like brain fog, anxiety, and sleeplessness, says Dr. Blazer.