Types of RA?

In the spirit of ' no question is a stupid question': I have seen mentioned on a few blogs here people mentioning different types of RA. I have to confess I thought RA was RA and that was that! Can someone let me know What differnt types there are please? Thank you Mel

[Hidden]

Hi James, there are literally hundreds of different types of Arthritis, as for different types of RA you may be thinking of diseases such as lupus or Spondylitis and many others that have similar symptoms and are also Auto-immune system disorders they still have different names though. what you may also be thinking of is sero-positive RA and sero-negative RA where one is present in the blood and the other isn't.

You could also check the NRAS website as that will explain things in more detail.

mandy x

[Tricia-P]

Hi James,

I think Mandy has answered the question, the only other RA form of illness I know of is Reactive Rheumatoid Arthritis, this disease involves inflammation of joints (arthritis), eyes (conjunctivitis), and the genital, urinary, or gastrointestinal systems. Reactive arthritis can occur after genital infection or bowel infection; and even a viral sore throat. Reactive arthritis also has a lot of the same symptoms as psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and the arthritis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis which my step sister has. Reactive arthritis can affect the joints, the spine, the eyes, urinary tract, mouth, colon, and heart. It pretty much follows the same pattern as Rheumatoid Arthritis and there is no single laboratory test for diagnosing reactive arthritis but HLA-B27 genetic marker is commonly found in the blood but to get a blood test to rule out or confirm this marker has to be approved by a consultant as some hospitals won't do this test.Treatment of reactive arthritis is directed toward the specific body area(s) inflamed or affected.

Hope that helps

Txx

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wow tricia.. fab answer how brill alison xx

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Brillant thank you to those that have answered, and in so much detail too. I'll go to the NRAS as suggested. Mel

[Gina_K]

Hi Mel,

Probably bit late answering, but apparently there is 62 different types of arthritis!

ps. I have asked many obscure questions.