Psoriasis Arthritis

Read about Psoriasis Arthritis presented in simple easy to understand language

Psoriatic arthritis is a type of disease which causes pain in joint erosion and skin lesions. This disease also causes inflammation in and around these joints. People suffering from this disease will express a frequent pain in the joints and swelling, in addition to these they also suffer from scaly, red skin lesions.

Types of Psoriatic Arthritis
Symmetric Arthritis: This is the common type of Psoriatic Arthritis which mainly affects symmetric pairs of joints that is the same joints on both sides of the body.

Asymmetric Arthritis: They mainly attack the joints knee, ankle, wrist or finger.

Distal Interphalangal Predominant (DIP): They attack the joints involving joints closest to the nail in the fingers and toes.

Arthritis Mutilans: This is a serious type of Psoriatic Arthritis. This attack the small joints of the hands and feet, and it may also attack the neck or lower back pain.

Causes and Symptoms
What causes psoriatic arthritis is not known till now, but it has been researched that these are the type of autoimmune disease with some genetic components. Symptoms include the following

• Stiffness, pain, swelling and tenderness of the joints and the soft tissue around them
• Reduced range of motion
• Morning stiffness and tiredness
• Silvery layers of skin that flake off leaving red, inflamed skin underneath
• Redness and pain of the eye, similar to conjunctivitis

The Treatment for these diseases includes the following
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID5): The medicines such as aspirin and ibuprofen are very useful in minimizing the pain in the Joints, Stiffness, Inflammation and the symptoms of Psoriatic Arthritis.

• Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARD5): Include Cyclosporine and Methotrexate these are mainly used to slow down or stop the tissue & Joint damage.

• Biologic Response Modifiers: These modifiers mainly control the activities of the immune system. So, these biologics try to significantly reduce the symptoms of Psoriatic arthritis.