You have just diagnosed a patient with rheumatoid arthritis in their hands, a ch

Question

You have just diagnosed a patient with rheumatoid arthritis in their hands, a chronic, inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks the joints producing inflammation and often progresses to destruction of cartilage and joints. Rheumatoid arthritis: extracellular release of lysosomal enzymes. Your patient has a Master of Science in Chemistry, and would like a biochemical explanation of how rheumatoid arthritis is affecting the cells of their hands, so that they can put the disease into perspective. What will you say?

Explanation / Answer

Biochemical explanation of how rheumatoid arthritis is affecting the cells of hands :

When a foreign substance enters the body, the immune system activates destroy the invader.

The T-cell lymphocytes identify the invaders through their antigens as they are called memory cells.

After identification, the T-cells release chemicals called cytokines that trigger B-cell lymphocytes to produce antibodies and these antibodies destroy the invaders.

In Rheumatoid arthritis, immune system do not work correctly. It is an autoimmune disease that affect many joints such as those in the hands and feet.

When immune response occurs, tissues become inflamed, which can include heat, redness, swelling, and pain. It helps the body to heal. But in Rheumatoid arthritis, body starts damaging itself. Thus the term autoimmune disease is used. RA involves chronic inflammation as the condition causing acute inflammation is not resolved, then inflammation pass to a longer term chronic phase.

During immune responses, many signaling chemicals such as cytokines are produced.
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a cytokine that is involved in inflammatory responses. It can be produced by T-cells. High concentrations of TNF found in the bone joints of Rheumatoid arthritis patients.

RANKL (Receptor Activator for Nuclear Factor ? B Ligand) is a member of the TNF family and needed in the body as it activates osteoclasts that help regulate the amount of bone tissue.

In rheumatoid arthritis, RANKL is overproduced that results in overproduction of osteoclasts snd results in erosion of bone tissue....

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