Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (patient information)
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Juvenile idiopathic arthritis |
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Where to find medical care for Juvenile idiopathic arthritis? |
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Juvenile idiopathic arthritis On the Web |
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Directions to Hospitals Treating Juvenile idiopathic arthritis |
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Risk calculators and risk factors for Juvenile idiopathic arthritis |
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Editors-in-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. Associate Editor-In-Chief: Ujjwal Rastogi, MBBS [1]
Overview
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is a term used to describe a common type of arthritis in children. It is a long-term (chronic) disease resulting in joint pain and swelling.
What are the symptoms of Goodpasture's Syndrome?
Arthritis symptoms:
- Joint stiffness when you wake up in the morning
- Joint pain
- Limited range of motion
- Joints may be warm or swollen and sometimes red
- A child may stop using an affected limb or may limp
- Back pain
Body-wide JRA symptoms:
- Fever, usually high fevers every day
- Rash (trunk and extremities) that comes and goes with the fever
- Swollen lymph nodes (glands)
- JRA can also cause eye inflammation called uveitis. This problem can occur without any eye symptoms, or someone may have:
- Red eyes
- Eye pain
- Increased pain when looking at light (photophobia)
- Vision changes
What causes Goodpasture's syndrome?
The cause of JRA is not known. It is thought to be an autoimmune illness. In this type of condition, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue.
It is divided into several categories:
Systemic JRA involves joint swelling or pain, fevers, and rash. It is the least common category. Polyarticular JRA involves many joints. This form of JRA may turn into rheumatoid arthritis. It may involve large and small joints of the legs and arms, as well as the TMJ and cervical spine. Pauciarticular JRA involves only a few joints, usually the hips, knees, or ankles. Many other medical problems can cause symptoms similar to those of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, including:
- Lyme disease
- rheumatic fever
- bone infections (osteomyelitis)
- Sarcoidosis
- psoriatic arthritis
- vasculitis
- Inflammatory bowel disease
Who is at highest risk?
JRA usually occurs before age 16.